MARTIN the Cobbler

The Children's Sermon (Reading)...
In a certain Russian town, there lived a very honest cobbler called Martin. He was a fine cobbler as he did his work well and never promised to do anything that he could not do. He lived in a tiny basement room. Its only window looked out onto the street. Of the passers-by all he could see was their feet. But since there was hardly a pair of boots or shoes that had not passed through his hands at one time or another for repair, Martin was able to identify the passers-by by looking at their shoes.

But life had been hard on Martin. His wife died, leaving him with a young son. However, no sooner had the son reached the age when he could be of help to his father than he fell ill and died. Martin buried him and gave way to despair, he gave up the practice of his religion. But one day an old friend of his dropped in. Martin poured out his soul to him. At the end of it his friend advised him to do a little reading from the Gospels each day, promising that if he did so, light and hope would come back into his life.

Martin took his friend’s advice. At the end of each day he would take down the Bible from the shelf and read a little from the Gospels. At first he meant only to read on Sundays, but he found it so interesting that he soon read it everyday. Slowly his life changed and he no longer despaired The words of Christ created new hope for him and the deeds of Christ were like lights that drove out his darkness.

One night as Martin sat reading he thought he heard someone calling him. He listened and heard: “Martin, Martin, look out into the street tomorrow for I will come to visit you.” He wasn’t sure if he was dreaming or not. He went asleep wondering about that voice.

So it was with a great sense of anticipation that he sat down to his work the next day. As he worked he kept a close eye on the window, did he really hear that voice, and who would be coming to visit. He was looking for something or someone special. But nothing exciting happened. Just the usual people passed by going about their everyday business.

He eagerly waited and watched. What he saw from his basement window was an old gentleman, perhaps a veteran, named Stepániteh, sweeping the sidewalk. He looked cold and weary.

Martin invited him into his shop where he had his samovar (boiling pot) set for tea. He and Stepániteh enjoyed their tea as they talked.

There is nothing like a warm cup of tea on a winter day. When it is shared with someone, the day becomes brighter.

After Stepániteh went back to his sweeping, Martin continued working and glancing out the window. Many people passed, dressed in fine boots and shoes, but as Martin watched, he saw a poorly dressed young woman and her baby struggling in the cold.

He invited her in to his shop. He fed her what he had prepared for himself: cabbage soup and bread. He gave her an old coat and 20 copecks (one fifth of a ruble) to retrieve her shawl, which she had pawned the previous day.

It was near nightfall and still Martin pondered. Out of his window, he saw a market woman with her apple basket and a bag of wood chips scolding a young boy.

Rushing out to the street, he intervened with the woman to forgive the boy who had snatched an apple from her basket. After a long conversation about “the scamps” of the town being “spoiled,” Martin offered to pay for the apple, which he then gave to the boy.

The woman forgave the boy. In turn, the boy offered to carry her bag of wood chips to her house.

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

"It must be time to make a light," he thought to himself; so he fixed his little lamp, hung it up…He put away his tools, swept off the cuttings, cleared off the bristles and ends, took the lamp, put it on the table, and took down the Bible from the shelf. He intended to open the book at the very place where he had yesterday put a piece of leather as a mark, but it happened to open at another place; and the moment Martin opened it, 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 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, Martin! did you not recognize me?"

"Who?" uttered Martin.

"Me," repeated the voice. "It's I;" and Stepániteh stepped forth from the dark corner; he smiled, and like a little cloud faded away, and soon vanished.

"And this is I," said the voice. From the dark corner stepped forth the woman with her child: the woman smiled, the child laughed, and they also vanished.

"And this is I," 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 from St. Matthew where it happened to open. On the upper part of the page he read- "For I was hungry, and you gave me food: I was thirsty, & you gave me drink: I was a stranger, & you took me in..."

And on the lower part of the page he read this: "Inasmuch as you have done it unto one of the least of these my brothers & sisters, you have done it unto me" (Matthew 25).

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

(Where Love is, There God is Also by Leo Tolstoy (1885))