"Where Love Is, God Is" (sometimes also translated as "Where Love Is, There God Is Also" or "Martin the Cobbler") is a short story by Russian author Leo Tolstoy. The title references the Catholic hymn Ubi Caritas. One English translation of this short story as translated by Nathan Haskell Dole uses the alternate title translation of "Where Love Is, There God Is Also". It was published in the United States under Crowell Company's "Worth While Booklet" Series. It was written in 1885.
"Where Love Is, God Is" is a short story about a shoemaker named Martin Avdeitch. The story begins with a background on Martin's life. He was a fine cobbler as he did his work well and never promised to do anything that he could not do. He stayed busy with his work in his basement which had only one window. Through this window he could see only the feet of people. He was still able to recognize most people by their shoes as he had worked with most of the shoes at least once. He had a wife, but she died, and all their children had died in their infancy except a three-year-old son.
After he thought about sending him off to live with his sister he decided to care for the child himself. Martin however, was not destined to have a child as his son died a few years later with a fever. In grief, he denied God, wondering how He could allow such a thing to happen to him. One day a missionary visited Martin and Martin told him of his hardships. This missionary told Martin that he should live his life for God and not deny Him because God's will is the ultimate deciding factor and as humans we cannot question that. The missionary's words sank deep into Martin. After this encounter Martin went out and bought a large print Testament.
He began to read the Bible, at first only on holidays, but as he read more and more it became daily. His life became full with peace and joy. After his day of work he would sit down with a lamp and read. One night Martin read a passage about a Pharisee who had invited Jesus into his house, and in the house a woman anointed and washed Jesus' feet with her tears. Martin thought of himself as the Pharisee in that story as he was only living for himself. As Martin slept he thought he heard the voice of God telling him that He would visit him the next day.
The next morning Martin skeptically watched out his window for God. While he was searching for God he saw Stepanitch shoveling away snow. Martin invited him in for a warm drink and they talked for a while. Martin told Stepanitch about Jesus and the Pharisee and Stepanitch was moved to tears. Stepanitch later left and thanked Martin for the food, both for the soul and body.
Martin later saw a young woman outside with a baby not properly dressed for the cold. He invited her in for some food and gave her warmer clothes and money. Martin also told her about Jesus and she thanked him and left. Then he saw a young boy stealing from an older lady. He went outside and settled their argument as he extended love and compassion towards the both of them.
That night while Martin wondered why God had not visited him, the three figures appeared in his home, who he had showed hospitality to that day. They said that when he helped them he was helping God. Martin then realized that God had indeed visited him, and he accepted Him well.
The Czech composer Bohuslav Martinů based a short opera on this story, however he used the title of another story by Tolstoi “What Men Live By”. Libretto of this opera-pastoral in one act (1952) was written by the composer.
The story was made into a 1977 claymation special animated by Will Vinton. Vinton's recreation was a faithful adaptation of the written word to claymation, with the exception that the narrator was much more quiet and the characters were given greater realm to express themselves.
It was adapted into "Pratiksha" an episode from the Indian television series, Katha Sagar (1986)
The Christmas Guest, a holiday poem written and recorded by Grandpa Jones and later recorded by Johnny Cash and Reba McEntire, is based on this story.
A Haitian Creole translation was produced by Haitian author, Carrié Paultre, published by the Presse Evangélique and the University of Kansas (Bryant C. Freeman).
Shoemaker Martin (1997), a children's book by Brigitte Hanhart, is based on this story.
It was adapted made-for-TV movie, Winter Thaw [1] (2016) for BYUTV, starring John Rhys-Davies, and filmed in Lithuania. The film was produced by Utah-based Kaleidoscope Pictures. The film was directed by Adam Thomas Anderegg and Produced by Russ Kendall. Screenplay by Joseph Clay and Russ Kendall. It was screened on BYU TV and can be viewed on demand. It received an Emmy Award in 2017. [2] [3] [4] [5]
The Gospel of Matthew is the first book of the New Testament of the Bible and one of the three synoptic Gospels. It tells how Israel's Messiah, Jesus, comes to his people but is rejected by them and how, after his resurrection, he sends the disciples to the gentiles instead. Matthew wishes to emphasize that the Jewish tradition should not be lost in a church that was increasingly becoming gentile. The gospel reflects the struggles and conflicts between the evangelist's community and the other Jews, particularly with its sharp criticism of the scribes and Pharisees with the position that through their rejection of Christ, the Kingdom of God has been taken away from them and given instead to the church.
The Pharisees were a Jewish social movement and a school of thought in the Levant during the time of Second Temple Judaism. After the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE, Pharisaic beliefs became the foundational, liturgical, and ritualistic basis for Rabbinic Judaism.
Nicodemus is a New Testament figure venerated as a saint in a number of Christian traditions. Depicted as a Pharisee and a member of the Sanhedrin who is drawn to hear Jesus's teachings, he is mentioned in three places in the Gospel of John:
William Gale Vinton was an American animator and filmmaker. Vinton was best known for his Claymation work, alongside creating iconic characters such as The California Raisins. He won an Oscar for his work alongside several Emmy Awards and Clio Awards for his studio's work.
The Parable of the Prodigal Son is one of the parables of Jesus in the Bible, appearing in Luke 15:11–32. Jesus shares the parable with his disciples, the Pharisees, and others.
The Kingdom of God Is Within You is a non-fiction book written by Leo Tolstoy. A Christian anarchist philosophical treatise, the book was first published in Germany in 1894 after being banned in his home country of Russia. It is the culmination of 30 years of Tolstoy's thinking and lays out a new organization for society based on an interpretation of Christianity focusing on universal love.
Mark 12 is the twelfth chapter of the Gospel of Mark in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. It continues Jesus' teaching in the Temple in Jerusalem, and contains the parable of the Wicked Husbandmen, Jesus' argument with the Pharisees and Herodians over paying taxes to Caesar, and the debate with the Sadducees about the nature of people who will be resurrected at the end of time. It also contains Jesus' greatest commandment, his discussion of the messiah's relationship to King David, condemnation of the teachers of the law, and his praise of a poor widow's offering.
The Parable of the Two Debtors is a parable of Jesus. It appears in Luke 7:36–7:50, where Jesus uses the parable to explain that the woman who has anointed him loves him more than his host, because she has been forgiven of greater sins.
Matthew 16 is the sixteenth chapter in the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament section of the Christian Bible. Jesus begins a journey to Jerusalem from the vicinity of Caesarea Philippi, near the southwestern base of Mount Hermon. Verse 24 speaks of his disciples "following him".
Matthew 22 is the twenty-second chapter in the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament section of the Christian Bible. Jesus continues his final ministry in Jerusalem before his Passion. Teaching in the Temple, Jesus enters into debate successively with the Pharisees, allied with the Herodians, the Sadducees, and a lawyer, ultimately silencing them all.
Luke 6 is the sixth chapter of the Gospel of Luke in the New Testament of the Christian Bible, traditionally attributed to Luke the Evangelist, a companion of Paul the Apostle on his missionary journeys. Jesus' teaching about the Sabbath enrages the religious authorities and deepens their conflict. The selection of twelve apostles is recounted and this is followed by the "Sermon on the Plain", where key aspects of Jesus' teaching are presented.
Luke 15 is the fifteenth chapter of the Gospel of Luke in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. The book containing this chapter is anonymous, but early Christian tradition uniformly affirmed that Luke the Evangelist composed this Gospel as well as the Acts of the Apostles. This chapter records three parables of Jesus Christ: the lost sheep, the lost coin and the lost or 'prodigal' son, a trilogy about redemption that Jesus tells after the Pharisees and religious leaders accuse him of welcoming and eating with "sinners".
The anointings of Jesus’s head or feet are events recorded in the four gospels. The account in Matthew 26, Mark 14, and John 12 takes place on the Holy Wednesday of Holy Week at the house of Simon the Leper in Bethany, a village in Judaea on the southeastern slope of the Mount of Olives. In Matthew and Mark, he is anointed by an unnamed woman. In John, the woman is identified as Mary of Bethany, the sister of Martha and Lazarus of Bethany. The event in Luke features an unnamed sinful woman, and is in the northern region, as Luke 7 indicates Jesus was ministering in the northern regions of Nain and Capernaum. The honorific anointing with perfume is an action frequently mentioned in other literature from the time; however, using long hair to dry Jesus's feet, as in John and Luke, is not recorded elsewhere, and should be regarded as an exceptional gesture. Considerable debate has discussed the identity of the woman, the location, timing, and the message.
Matthew 7:28 is the twenty-eighth verse of the seventh chapter of the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament. It forms the first part of a two verse conclusion following the Sermon on the Mount.
Matthew 7:29 is the twenty-ninth verse in the seventh chapter of the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament. It ends a two verse conclusion following the Sermon on the Mount.
Matthew 9:13 is a verse in the ninth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament.
Matthew 12:24 is the 24th verse in the twelfth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament.
The unknown years of Jesus generally refers to the period of Jesus's life between his childhood and the beginning of his ministry, a period not described in the New Testament.
Son of God is a 2014 American epic biblical film directed by Christopher Spencer, and produced by Mark Burnett and Roma Downey. The film retells the life of Jesus and is an adaptation of the ten-hour miniseries The Bible, which aired in March 2013 on the History channel, and immediately following the movie begins another TV series called A.D. The Bible Continues.
Matthew 12:14-16 is a set of verses in the twelfth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament.
