I wish you could have heard Pastor Jeff’s sermon today, which was inspired by this verse from today’s Gospel lesson from the 14th chapter of John: “I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming for you.” Jeff began by saying that one of his favorite Greg Berg songs is “Cherish Every Child,” a song I composed for Caritas about ten years ago. He then proceeded to tell the story of what inspired me to write the song in the first place – an incredible and heartbreaking photograph which I saw in an old issue of Life magazine. The picture was of a young Chinese infant who had been abandoned under a tree in the woods- an occurrence which is not all that uncommon in China, especially baby girls. The photographer, Jeff Abelin, and his companions took the baby to a nearby hospital, where it died two days later of pneumonia and complications from a heart abnormality. What is in some ways even more chilling is that the photographer went back to the same tree the next day – and there was another abandoned baby lying under the very same tree. It was in the wake of seeing that photograph that I was inspired to compose “Cherish Every Child.” Here are some of the lyrics:
Cherish every Child you see.
They are a part of you and me.
Nourish them like a planted seed.
Cherish Every Child.
Cherish every Child you know.
Do what you can to help them grow,
knowing Jesus loves them so.
Cherish Every Child.
Jesus Himself said “Let them come.”
“These are my precious, chosen ones.”
“Failing all else, let this be done. . . “
“to cherish every Child.”
(I need to put this song on my Listen page and will try to do that this week.)
Jeff tied this into the real life story of a friend of his in the synod office who is in the midst of adopting a child from China. The child in question was an abandoned infant like the one in the photograph, and apparently the official designation of such a baby is that they are “Found Forsaken.” Jeff said that it’s amazing that a legal term, of all things, could be so to-the-point and also so chilling. It may be terribly depressing to think about the reality of infants being abandoned by the thousands, but in thinking about what it means to be Forsaken, we learn what it means to be Found. And God bless those who reach out and embrace the Forsaken; there is a very special place awaiting them in heaven. (I think of Steve and his partner Scott, who adopted their beautiful son Henry from Cambodia- and who have worked so hard to create a fund that aids the orphanage from which Henry came. I think of my best friend Marshall who over the last few years has sponsored a child in need from the Far East. And right in our backyard, I think of outstanding teachers like my wife or Kate Barrow and the big difference they make in the lives of children.)
Anyway, Jeff asked if Caritas would sing the song right after his sermon- and it was an honor to do so. This is one of those songs that we have sung so many times over the years that we really no longer need to even rehearse it. It’s just in our bones, somehow- and for as many times as we’ve sung it at Holy Communion, it was like the very first time all over again because Jeff had set it up so beautifully in his sermon. It was though people were hearing the words in a different way- and it also felt like we were singing them with new insight.
One more observation. . . Cherish Every Child is almost certainly the only song I’ve ever composed where it literally felt like it was not me but rather some higher power creating the song. I saw that photograph and literally within moments the song was forming in my mind as though a thunderbolt of inspiration had struck me between the eyes. It was an amazing blessing to experience this. It was also downright scary, but in the best sense of the word. Once in awhile things happen to us which remind us that there is Someone out there far greater than we are, Someone who can use us in some amazing and unanticipated ways.
pictured above: The photograph in question can also be seen in the Life publication “100 Photographs That Changed The World.” I heartily recommend it.