Another stray thought on sermoncraft today. And I've been having what you might describe as a neighbourly chat across the hedge with Drayton Parslow on this one.
Drayton's belief is that you should always say "Amen" at the end of your sermons. His principle is that, having offered it up to God, a sermon is effectively a kind of prayer. So "Amen" is commending it. Even if you had the most powerfully moving and spiritually effective sermon known to Man you should say Amen to conclude.
To which firstly I had to respond that what he should have said was "known to Humanity" or "known to Men and Women". And secondly, that it strikes me that Drayton is using the word "Amen" as a kind of get-out. I reckon he's using it as a keyword to wake up the congregation (and, after Drayton's 2-hour variety of sermon, probably Drayton himself, and possibly even God. I have a mortal fear that one day Drayton's going to bore God to sleep and who knows what that could mean to the universe).
Either that, or it means that Drayton's sermon conclusion is so indeterminate that Drayton himself is unsure whether it has ended or not. So he says "Amen" as a kind of rubric, meaning everyone knows the sermon is over and they're not all left dangling waiting for the next thought he might be planning to share.
Personally, I never say "Amen" at the end of a talk. Partly because I ensure everyone always knows when I've finished. And partly because there's rarely anything deeply spiritual in there anyway, so what's the point?
I'm with Drayton here. If I say Amen at least I know I've finished, even if the congregation is waiting for more....
ReplyDelete"Congregation is waiting for more..." - tell me how that works then?
ReplyDeleteEileen, it usually involves at least some of the congregation rousing suddenly from their nap/contemplative listening pose and waiting expectantly for the sermon they've just missed.
ReplyDelete