Where Love is God is Also

By Leo Tolstoy

Adapted by Rev. Cathy Russell, Jan 3/2010

Cathy:             In the city lived Martin Ivanov, a shoemaker. He lived in a basement, in a little room with one window. The window looked out on the street. Through the window he used to watch the people passing by: although only their feet could be seen, yet by the boots Martin Ivanov recognized their owners. He had lived long in one place, and had many acquaintances. Few pairs of boots in his district had not been in his hands once and again. Some he would half-sole, some he would patch, some he would stitch around, and occasionally he would also put on new uppers. And through the window he quite often recognized his work. Martin had plenty to do, because he was a faithful workman, used good material, did not make exorbitant charges, and kept his word. If he could finish an order by a certain time, he accepted it: if not, he would not deceive you—he told you so beforehand. And all knew Martin, and he was never out of work

Once it happened that Martin read till late into the night. He was reading the Gospel of Luke. He was reading over the sixth chapter.

The hour grew late and he wanted to go to bed, but he felt loath to tear himself away from the book. He read about the centurion, he read about the widow’s son, and finally he came to that place where the rich Pharisee desired the Lord to sit at meat with him; and he read how the woman that was a sinner anointed His feet, and washed them with her tears, and how He forgave her. He reached the forty-fourth verse, and began to read:

John                 “And he turned to the woman, and said to Simon, ‘Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she has bathed my feet with her tears and dried them with her hair. 45You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not stopped kissing my feet. 46You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. 47 He finished reading these verses, and thought to himself, “You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not stopped kissing my feet. 46You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment.” 

Cathy              Martin took off his spectacles, put them down upon the book, and again he became lost in thought.

John                 It seems that Pharisee must have been such a man as I am. I too apparently have thought only of myself—how I might have my tea, be warm and comfortable, but never to think about my guest. The Pharisee thought about himself, but there was not the least care taken of the guest. And who was his guest? The Lord Himself. If He had come to me, should I have done the same way?

Cathy              Martin rested his head upon both his arms, and did not notice how he fell asleep.

“Martin!” suddenly seemed to sound in his ears.  Martin started from his sleep

John:    Who is here?

Cathy              He turned around, glanced toward the door—no one.

Again he fell into a doze. Suddenly he plainly heard, “Martin! Ah, Martin! Look tomorrow on the street. I am coming.”

HYMN            Once In Royal David’s City  #62 v. 1-3        

Cathy              Martin awoke, rose from the chair, began to rub his eyes. He himself did not know whether he heard those words in his dreams, or in reality. He turned down his lamp, and went to bed.

At daybreak next morning, Martin rose, made his prayer to God, lighted the stove, put on the cabbage soup and the gruel, put the water in the samovar, put on his apron, and sat down by the window to work.

Martin was working, and at the same time thinking about all that had happened yesterday. He thought both ways: now he thought it was a dream, and now he thought he really heard a voice.

John                 Well, such things have been.

Cathy              Martin was sitting by the window, and did not work as much as he looked out at the street.  When anyone passed by in boots that he did not know, he bent down, looked out of the window, in order to see not only the feet but also the face. The house-porter passed by in new felt boots; the water-carrier passed by; then came alongside of the window an old soldier of Czar Nicholas’ time, in an old pair of laced felt boots, with a shovel in his hands. Martin recognized him by his felt boots. The old man’s name was Anton Petrov; He worked as an assistant to the house-porter. Anton began to shovel away the snow from in front of Martin’s window. Martin glanced at him, and took up his work again.

John                 Pshaw! I must be getting crazy in my old age, Anton is clearing away the snow, and I imagine that Christ is coming to see me.

Cathy              Martin sewed about a dozen stitches, and then felt impelled to look through the window again. He looked out again through the window, and saw Anton had leaned his shovel against the wall.  He was an old, broken-down man: evidently he had not strength enough even to shovel the snow. Martin said to himself,

John                 I will give him some tea.  

Cathy              Martin laid down his awl, rose from his seat, put the samovar on the table, made the tea, and tapped with his finger at the glass.

Anton turned around, and came to the window. Martin beckoned to him, and went to open the door.

John                 Come in, warm yourself a little. You must be cold.

Derek              May Christ reward you for this! My bones ache.

Cathy  Anton came in, and shook off the snow

John                 Come in and sit down. Drink a cup of tea.

Cathy              And Martin filled two glasses, and handed one to his guest.  Anton finished drinking his glass of tea, turned the glass upside down (a custom among the Russians), put upon it the half-eaten lump of sugar, and began to express his thanks. But it was evident he wanted some more.

John                 Have some more

Cathy              Martin filled both his own glass and his guest’s.  Martin drank his tea, but from time to time kept glancing out into the street.

Derek              Are you expecting anyone?

John                 Am I expecting anyone? I am ashamed even to tell whom I expect. I am, and I am not, expecting someone.  Whether it is a dream, or something else, I do not know. You see, brother, I was reading yesterday the Gospel about Christ; how He suffered, how He walked on the earth. I suppose you have heard about it?

Derek              Indeed I have, but we are people in darkness; we can’t read.

John                 Well, now, I was reading about that very thing—how He walked upon the earth: I read, you know, how He comes to the Pharisee, and the Pharisee did not treat Him hospitably. Now, if he should come to me, or anyone else, I think to myself I should not even know how to receive Him. Well! While I was thus thinking, I fell asleep, brother, and I heard someone call me by name. I got up: the voice, just as though someone whispered, said, ‘Be on the watch: I shall come tomorrow.’ And this happened twice. Well! Would you believe it, it got into my head? I scolded myself—and yet I was expecting Him, Christ Himself.

Cathy              Anton shook his head, and said nothing: he finished drinking his glass of tea, and put it on the side; but Martin picked up the glass again, and filled it once more.

John                 Drink some more for your good health. You see, I have an idea that, when Christ went about on earth, He disdained no one, and had more to do with the simple people. He picked out His disciples more from among our brethren, sinners like ourselves from the working-class. He, says He, who exalts himself shall be humbled, and he who is humbled shall become exalted. Whoever wishes, says He, to be the first, the same shall be a servant to all. Because, says He, blessed are the poor, the humble, the kind, the generous.

Cathy              And Anton forgot about his tea: he was an old man, and easily moved to tears. He was sitting listening, and the tears were rolling down his face.

John                 Come, now, have some more tea.

Cathy             But Anton made the sign of the cross, thanked him, turned up his glass, and arose.

Derek              Thank you, Martin Petrov, for treating me kindly, and satisfying me, soul and body.

John                 You are welcome; come in again: always glad to see a friend

Cathy              Anton departed; and Martin poured out the rest of the tea, drank it up, put away the dishes, and sat down again by the window to work, to stitch on a patch. He was stitching, and at the same time looking through the window. He was expecting Christ, and was all the while thinking of Him and His deeds, and his head was filled with the different speeches of Christ.

HYMN-          All Poor Ones and Humble #68

Cathy              Two soldiers passed by: one wore boots furnished by the Crown, and the other one, boots that he had made; then the master of the next house passed by in shining galoshes; then a baker with a basket passed by. All passed by; and now there came also by the window a woman in woolen stockings and wooden shoes. She passed by the window, and stood still near the window-case.

Cathy              Martin looked up at her from the window, saw it was a strange woman poorly clad, and with a child: she was standing by the wall with her back to the wind, trying to wrap up the child, and she had nothing to wrap it up in. The woman was dressed in shabby summer clothes: and from behind the frame, Martin heard the child crying, and the woman trying to pacify it; but she was not able to. Martin got up, went to the door, ascended the steps, and cried,

John                 Hey! My good woman!

Cathy              The woman heard him and turned around.

John                 Why are you standing in the cold with the child? Come into my room, where it is warm: you can manage the child better. Right in this way!

Cathy              The woman was astonished. She saw an old, old man in an apron, with spectacles on his nose, calling her to him. She followed him. They descended the steps and entered the room.

John                 There, sit down, my good woman, nearer to the stove: you can get warm, and nurse the child.

Laura               I have no milk for him. I myself have not eaten anything since morning,

Cathy              Martin shook his head, went to the table, brought out the bread and a dish, opened the oven door, poured into the dish some cabbage soup and put it on the table. He got the bread, took the towel down from the hook, and put it upon the table.

John                 Sit down and eat, my good woman; and I will mind the little one. You see, I once had children of my own: I know how to handle them.

Cathy              The woman crossed herself, sat down at the table, and began to eat, while Martin took a seat on the bed near the infant. He smiled at the child, and the little lad smiled back. While the woman was eating, she told who she was, and whither she was going.

Laura               I am a soldier’s wife. It is now seven months since they sent my husband away off, and no tidings. I lived out as cook; the baby was born; no one cared to keep me with a child. This is the third month that I have been struggling along without a place. I ate up all I had. I am so tired, and he is tired too, my heart’s darling. Fortunately, our land-lady takes pity on us for the sake of Christ, and gives us a room, or else I don’t know how I should manage to get along.

John                 Haven’t you any warm clothes?

Laura               Just yesterday I pawned my last shawl for a twenty-kopek piece.

Cathy              The woman came over to where Martin sat and took the child; and Martin rose, went to the little wall, and succeeded in finding an old coat.

John                 Now, it is a poor thing, yet you may turn it to some use.

Cathy              The woman looked at the coat, and then looked at the old man! She took the coat, and burst into tears.  But Martin was not done yet- crawling under the bed, he pushed out a little trunk, rummaged in it, and sat down again opposite the woman.

And the woman said,

Laura               May Christ bless you, little grandfather! He must have sent me Himself to your window. My little child would have frozen to death. And Christ led you to look through the window, and take pity on me, an unfortunate.”

John                 Indeed, He did that! I have been looking through the window, my good woman, not without cause.

Cathy              And Martin told the soldier’s wife his dream, and how he heard the voice—how the Lord promised to come and see him that day.

Laura               All things are possible.

Cathy              She rose, put on the coat, wrapped up her little child in it; and, as she started to take leave, she thanked Martin again.  Martin pressed a twenty-kopek piece into her hand and said

John                 Take this, for the sake of Christ, and redeem your shawl.

Cathy              She made the sign of the cross Martin made the sign of the cross, and went with her to the door. The woman left. Martin ate some soup, washed some dishes, and sat down again to work. While he worked he still remembered the window: when the window grew darker, he immediately looked out to see who was passing by. Both acquaintances and strangers passed by, and there was nothing out of the ordinary.

HYMN-          What Child is This? #74  

Cathy              Martin saw that an old apple-woman had stopped right in front of his window. She carried a basket with apples, and a bag full of wood chips for her fire. She was taking a moment to shift the heavy bag to the other shoulder. So she lowered it upon the sidewalk, stood the basket with the apples on a little post, and began to shake down the splinters in the bag. At that moment, a little boy in a torn cap came along, picked up an apple from the basket, and was about to make his escape; but the old woman noticed it, turned around, and caught the youngster by his sleeve. The little boy began to struggle, tried to tear himself away; but the old woman grasped him with both hands, knocked off his cap, and caught him by the hair.

The little boy was screaming, the old woman was scolding. Martin lost no time in putting away his awl; he threw it upon the floor, sprang to the door—he even stumbled on the stairs, and dropped his eyeglasses—and rushed out into the street.

Martin tried to separate the scolding granny and the howling child. He took the boy by his arm, and said,

John                 Let him go, Granny; forgive him, for Christ’s sake.

Alannah           I am going to take the little villain to the police.

John                 Let him go, Granny-he will never do it again. Let him go, for the sake of Christ.

Cathy              The old woman let him loose: the boy tried to run, but Martin kept him back.

John                 Ask the Granny’s forgiveness,and don’t ever do it again: I saw you taking the apple.”

Cathy              With tears in his eyes, the boy began to ask forgiveness.

John                 Good! That’s right; and now, here’s an apple for you.

Cathy              Martin got an apple from the basket, and gave it to the boy.

John                 I will pay you for it, Granny.

Cathy              He said to the old woman.

Alannah           You ruin them that way, the good-for-nothings He ought to be treated so that he would remember it for a whole week.”

John                 Eh, Granny, Granny, that is right according to our judgment, but not according to God’s. If he is to be whipped for an apple, then what do we deserve for our sins?”

Cathy              The old woman was silent.

Martin told her the parable of the ruler who forgave a debtor all that he owed him, and how the debtor went and began to choke one who owed him.

The old woman listened, and the boy stood listening.

John                 God has commanded us to forgive, else we, too, may not be forgiven. All should be forgiven, and the thoughtless especially.

Cathy              The old woman shook her head, and sighed.

Alannah           That’s so, but the trouble is that they are very much spoiled.

John                 Then we who are older must teach them.

Granny            That’s just what I say. I share my house with my daughter and my grandchildren- how nice they are! No one gives me such a welcome as they do. Katarina won’t go to anyone but me. ‘It’s –‘Grandmother, dear Grandmother, darling Grandmother’.

Cathy              And the old woman grew quite sentimental.

Alannah           “Of course, it is a childish trick. God be with him,”

Cathy              said she, pointing to the boy.  The woman was just about to lift the bag upon her shoulder, when the boy ran up and offered to carry the bag for her, as they were going the same way.

The old woman nodded her head, and put the bag on the boy’s back.

Side by side they both passed along the street. And the old woman even forgot to ask Martin to pay for the apple.  Martin stood motionless, and kept gazing after them; and he heard them talking all the time as they walked away. After Martin saw them disappear, he returned to his room; he found his eyeglasses on the stairs—they were not broken; he picked up his awl, and sat down to work again.

After working a little while, it grew darker so that he could not see to sew: he saw the lamplighter passing by to light the street lamps.

John                 It must be time to make a light

Cathy              Martin fixed his little lamp, hung it up, and betook himself to work. He had one boot already finished; he turned it around, looked at it with satisfaction. He put away his tools, swept off the cuttings, took the lamp, put it on the table, and took down the Gospels from the shelf. The moment Martin opened the Testament, he recollected his last night’s dream. And as soon as he remembered it, it seemed as though he heard someone stepping about behind him. Martin looked around, and saw—there, in the dark corner, it seemed as though people were standing: he was at a loss to know who they were. And a voice whispered in his ear, “Martin—ah, Martin! Did you not recognize me?

John                 Who?

Derek              Me, It is I

Cathy              and Anton stepped forth from the dark corner; he smiled, and like a little cloud faded away, and soon vanished.

Laura               And this is I

Cathy              From the dark corner stepped forth the woman with her child: the woman smiled, the child laughed, and they also vanished.

Alannah           And this is I

Cathy              continued the voice; both the old woman and the boy with the apple stepped forward; both smiled and vanished.

Martin’s soul rejoiced: he crossed himself, put on his eyeglasses, and began to read the Gospel where it happened to open. On the upper part of the page he read:

John                 For I was hungry, and you gave me meat: I was thirsty, and you gave me drink: I was a stranger, and you took me in.

Cathy              And on the lower part of the page he read this:

John                 Inasmuch as you have done it for one of the least of these, you have done it for me  (Matthew 25).

Cathy              And Martin understood that his dream did not deceive him; that the Saviour really called upon him that day, and that he really received Him.

HYMN- Hark the Glad Sound #29