Amen means I'll drink to that

More than one person has voiced their concern to me about the fact that saying "amen" after prayer is biased against women. It's great that people are concerned about that! But "amen" has nothing to do with the English word "men." Actually, amen is a Hebrew word which appears in the Hebrew Bible like this: אָמֵן. It is translated as "truly" or "so be it." So after a prayer we say amen to affirm that we believe what we say, just like when our friends say or do something we really like, we say "I'll drink to that."

Steve McQueen says Amen

 Here's a great example: I was at a tepid party with some dancing, some drinks, a little chatting. Nothing special. Then someone got hold of the playlist and put on the Pokemon theme song. All of a sudden, you saw everyone in the room raise their glasses and start chugging or singing along. The energy in the room surged with nostalgic emotion. We were affirming the decision to play that song because of all of the great childhood memories it evoked for us. Those happy memories were just the emotional boost that that party needed to get it going and to help everyone feel great. One person exclaimed "I'll drink to this!" and we did.

Saying amen has a similar function. When we talk about God, hear about God, or God does something amazing in our lives, we express our feelings by saying amen. Perhaps at the end of a prayer where we have just poured out our grateful hearts. Or in Church when something that is said, or something in the music, causes us to want to affirm God's presence.

I think of the Lord's prayer, which is the only prayer that Jesus ever tells anyone to say. It comes straight from the gospel and at my Church, and many others, we say it together every week. The end of the prayer is "the power and the glory are Yours, forever and ever. Amen!" We are just so happy to affirm our belief in God's majesty that we say "I'll drink to that!" And when we take communion I guess we kind of do.

Today's recipe is very easy to make and very easy to drink. So if you need to drink to something, you'll be ready.

The Spiced Orange

You may have noticed that orange juice tastes great with almost any liquor. This recipe takes advantage of that principle but attempts to add some nuanced flavors to the sweetness.

Just combine 1 shot of spiced rum, 6 oz. or so of orange juice over ice then put in one drop of Angostura bitters.

The spices in the rum interact well with the orange to make a sweet yet aromatic drink with the bitters rounding out the flavor. Just a hint, any time you drink orange juice, even without booze, Angostura bitters can be added to enhance the flavor.

P.S. You can say it "ay-men" or "ah-men" it's up to you!