New Hymns

In the introduction to a new hymnal, "New Wine in Old Wineskins," the editor writes "surveys of hymnody in congregations repeatedly indicate that, while new hymnals and supplements are continually being published, for the most part we sing the same old and familiar hymns. This is problematic in that it causes us to limit our ability to grow biblically, theologically, and liturgically."

New hymns are constantly being written. The sheer number of hymns will guarantee that most will never gain a regular place in the church's song, even though a good number are every bit as good as many of the older hymns.

One of the reasons for continuing to sing mostly old and familiar songs, besides their inherent merit, is that some of us are wired to be reluctant to go along with changes. There are also some whose psychological make-up makes them ask for new material. They love change. We need to bear in mind both of these groups of people. Some will have to agree to look at making some changes from time to time, and others will have to be content with a pace that feels like a snail's pace for them. Love, unity and peace matter a great deal. If we all go flying off in our own directions, there will be a lot of debris!

Acts 4:32-35
When I first came across this passage many years ago, I was quite surprised. Nothing that comes earlier in the Bible prepared me for this radical statement:
All the believers were one in heart and mind.
No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own,
but they shared everything they had.
Some observers have said that these Christians were the first communists, but given what we know of communists in the century just past, this is an insult to these early brothers and sisters in the Lord. Communism as we know it from Russia, China and other places, is a God-denying. They persecuted the church and tried to end all religion.
The early Christians were motivated by their love for God, their obedience to Jesus as Lord, and their understanding of the message of the Bible, a message about the coming of the Kingdom, a call to do justice, to love kindness and to walk humbly with God.
Motivated by their salvation in Jesus, they could not help but wonder what a truly godly and Christian life would look like. Do they sound like dreamy-eyed idealists to you? Were they bound to fail given the harsh realities of life, governed as it is by selfishness and greed? Or were these early Christians really on to something? After all, it sounds pretty good to me: "All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had."
Sounds a lot better to me than a world were some billions of people, including children, live in poverty. They have no home, no nutritious food, no health care, no education—all they have is nothing.
Let’s agree, for the sake of argument, that given the realities of the real world, we cannot implement the early church’s ideals. But Christian people could at least agree to work towards some of that. We could advocate for the world’s needy, in Papua New Guinea, in Bangladesh, in Africa and so on, and do what we can to have each person in the world have all the basics.

• Let’s agree that every person should have a safe, sturdy roof over their heads.
  
• · Every child, woman and man should have nutritious food, with 2 000 calories per day. ·
  
• There should be access to clean drinking water for everyone. ·
  
• Every child have an opportunity to learn to read and write and do their numbers.
  
• Every person should have access to basic health care.
  

This would not be expensive. An economist did the math: providing the basics for all humans would cost only 10% as much as we now spend on war. Here’s one thing I’m sure of: I would love those early followers of Jesus. Their hearts were in the right place. Their obedience to Jesus really challenges us: thinking of the persecuted, the refugees, the homeless and hungry, the destitute and forlorn, what would Jesus have us do here and now?