从上一代到下一代，从年轻到年长的，大家活在完全不同的世界里！我的孙女告诉我各种很棒的社交网页，并可以瞬息间下载各种的应用程序——而很多程序也会很快地被“更好”的代替。可是，现今的科技和短信是如此普遍，很多年轻人都没有机会培养与同辈和与长辈相处的社交技巧。
无可否认，年轻的和年长的必定有代沟，但我不禁怀疑，这个代沟是否正在变得愈来愈宽。
除此以外，很多不同的世界观和政治观，也愈来愈两极化。从法国大革命到俄国和毛泽东革命，对疏离主义和阶级斗争的教导，已经加深了人与人之间的不和，并使人尝试把神从世人中间赶出去。我那一代的人也种下不少疏离的种子，因为假设人与之间根本就是不和的，甚至有时要表扬这些不和。
然而，基督不会丢弃我们在孤独中，祂已经使我们与神和好，又让我们有机会得到新的生命。试想像一下，假若年轻和年长的愿意更多沟通和更多彼此聆听，两代之间的关系将会是多么多姿多彩！我们的喜乐，就像神和衪子民之间的鸿沟被填满时的喜乐一样。今天你愿意主动去接触其他人吗？
主啊，与祢和与他人不和，是多么可悲。我们若变得不懂得与人沟通，求祢赐我们勇气开口对话，耐性去聆听，并愿意互相帮助的心。奉耶稣的名祷告，阿们。
玛拉基书 4:4-6
4“你们当记念我仆人摩西的律法，就是我在何烈山为以色列众人所吩咐他的律例典章。
5“看哪，耶和华大而可畏之日未到以前，我必差遣先知以利亚到你们那里去。
6他必使父亲的心转向儿女，儿女的心转向父亲，免得我来咒诅遍地。”
"He will turn the hearts of the parents to their children, and the hearts of the children to their parents. . . ." - Malachi 4:6
What different worlds the young and old often live in, from one generation to the next! My granddaughter tells me of cool social media sites and new apps she can download instantly—and many are soon replaced by other, "better" ones. With so much technology and texting today, however, many young people are missing out on developing social skills with one another as well as with older folks.
Doubtless there has always been a gap between young and old, but we may wonder if in some ways it is widening.
There's also polarization, with so many worldviews and political views. From the French Revolution on down to the Russian and Maoist revolutions, the teaching of alienation and class warfare has deepened estrangement between people and tried to drive God from our midst. My own generation sowed seeds of alienation too, simply assuming that people would be estranged from each other, and almost celebrating it.
But Christ does not abandon us to isolation. He has reconciled us with God and made new life possible. Think how rich our relationships could be if young and old talked and listened to each other more! It would be like the happiness when the gap between God and his children is bridged. Can you reach out to someone today?
O Lord, how sad it is to be estranged, from you and from each other. If we've grown unable to communicate, give us the courage to talk, the patience to listen, and the desire to be helpful to each other. Amen.
诵读: 楚云
片头: 张妙阳
