In my time in the ministry, I have only ever conducted two weddings: the first was my sister’s, the second was my brother’s.  

在我從事福音事工期間，我只主持過兩次婚禮：第一次是我妹妹的，第二次是我弟弟的。

A few weeks ago, my wife and I flew to California for my younger brother’s wedding.  We hadn’t all been sure he would ever get married, so it was with equal parts joy and relief that we celebrated.  

幾週前，我和妻子飛往加州參加弟弟的婚禮，在這之前，我們一直都不確定他是否會結婚，所以在婚禮上慶祝時， 大家既高興也鬆了一口氣。

My role in the process was a bit more stressful. What does one say at you siblings wedding? Do you just recited the same old words? Do you personalize things?  

我在這個過程中，身為主婚者的角色壓力更大一些，不知道大家會在自己兄弟姊妹的婚禮上說些什麼？ 是背誦固有的傳統台詞嗎？還是會把典禮營造得更有個人特色一些？

I ultimately decided to depend on tradition. I softened the language a little, but general used words and phrases that have been spoken at weddings for hundreds of years.  

我最終決定依循傳統，但是稍微修飾了遣詞，我使用了數百年來在婚禮上承襲使用的單字和短語。 

And in a way, this personalized the message more than anything else could. I was not just brother speaking to brother – a purely family affair. Nor was I pastor speaking to bride and groom – an institutional ritual.  

某種程度上，這遠比其他任何呈現方式都更具備意義，因為這不只是兄弟之間的談話–純粹是家庭事務；也不單單只是牧師對新娘和新郎說話–是一種儀式。

Instead, I was able to stand with my brother as a representative of the gifts and promises of both God and the community. It was not a mechanical process, but a personal invitation into something of deep and abiding value. I was sharing, one brother to another, the sacred meaning of our most precious practices.  

而是我能作為來自上帝和社群的恩賜 應許的代表，與我的弟弟站在一起，這不只是一個儀式的過程，而是一個有深刻長遠意義的邀請–我與我的兄弟分享並實踐上帝所賜下關於婚禮最寶貴且神聖的意義。 

And I was reminded that words are rarely ever just words. All the more when those words are the carry the gifts and promises of God.  

有人曾說，言語很少只是言語，更重要的是，這些話語承載著上帝的恩賜和應許。