When a Magician’s Greatest Trick Was a Lesson in Equality

A Magician Gave Us One of the Most Famous Hymns

If you attended Sunday School or Vacation Bible School as a child, you probably sang this song: “Jesus Loves the Little Children.” Have you ever wondered about the story behind this song?

At first glance, it appears to be a simple reminder that Jesus loves people of all races, and while that is the underlying message of the song, there is an inspiring story behind it.

Clarence Herbert Woolston, who wrote the song, was a pastor, but what may be more surprising is that he was also a magician and used sleight – of – hand for demonstrations during his sermons. He was born to Isaiah S. and Sarah B. Woolston and ordained as an American Baptist minister in 1880. Under his leadership, the East Baptist Church in Philadelphia reportedly grew from 176 members to more than 1,000.

Woolston was the author of Seeing Truth: A Book of Object Lessons with Magical and Mechanical Effects (Chicago and Philadelphia, 1910), a book that was dedicated “To the One Hundred Thousand Little Children who have both heard and seen these Object Lessons.”

The Magician – Preacher Writes a Song About Diversity 

Musician and storyteller Sean Dietrich provides some more insight into the circumstances that inspired Woolston to write “Jesus Loves the Little Children.”

The setting was 12 years after the Civil War and Philadelphia, the “City of Brotherly Love” had degenerated into the “City of ‘Brother, You Suck’” (Sean’s words).

With the migration of freed slaves from the south and the massive influx of immigrants –  Irish, German and Italian –  into the city, tensions were rising. Within a short time, two million of residents were immigrants, and there was a lot of bigotry and rioting. Churches and schools were burned and people were dying in the streets.

Rev. Woolston was also a magician, and he wrote books on how to use sleight- of- hand during sermons. (He must have been pretty well known for this, because the famous magician Harry Houdini is said to have sought out a copy of the book).

Woolston also used animals from the zoo as object lessons while preaching. Children who couldn’t afford to go to the zoo or circus would come to listen to his sermons. The children were from diverse backgrounds in terms of race and socioeconomic status, and since most were poor, they didn’t necessarily wear the cleanest or nicest-smelling clothes.

Nonetheless, the children were excited to be there and learn from the pastor-magician. However, the adults would avoid them and tell their own children to stay away from the “outsiders.”

One night, Rev. Woolston, upset by the bigotry in his own church,  went home and wrote the lyrics of a song with a message that was really more for the adults than the children.

While most people only know the chorus, the original hymn had three verses.

 

Refrain:

Jesus loves the little children,
All the children of the world;
Red and yellow, black and white,
All are precious in his sight,
Jesus loves the little children of the world.

 

Jesus calls the children dear,
‘Come to me and never fear,
For I love the little children of the world.
I will take you by the hand,
Lead you to the better land
For I love the little children of the world.

 

Jesus is the Shepherd true,
And he’ll always stand by you,
For he loves the little children of the world.
He’s a Savior great and strong,
And he’ll shield you from the wrong,
For he loves the little children of the world.

 

I am coming Lord to the[e],
And thy soldier I will be,
For he loves the little children of the world.
And his cross I’ll always bear,
And for him I’ll do and dare,
For he loves the little children of the world.

Some versions modify the original lyrics to “red, brown and yellow, black and white.”

Woolston’s song was paired with an 1864 Civil War tune known as “Tramp! Tramp! Tramp!” by George Fredrick Root and became one of the most popular children’s hymns in the US, perhaps second only to “Jesus Loves Me.” It has also been translated into several other languages.

As we celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr. day this month and consider all that is currently going on in our country, may the words of Rev. Woolston and Martin Luther King, Jr. remind us that we are, indeed, all precious in God’s sight, and may our actions bear witness to this fact.

Sources

https://www.umcdiscipleship.org/articles/history-of-hymns-jesus-loves-the-little-children

https://www.crcna.org/DoJustice/article/jesus-loves-little-children

https://dianaleaghmatthews.com/jesus-loves-little-children/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0O7O7BnpgLE&list=RD0O7O7BnpgLE&start_radio=1