THE EPIPHANY

Do you know

What the word epiphany means

Maybe you have even said,

“I had an epiphany”

It means

A moment of revelation or insight

Usually through

Some simple or common occurrence---an experience

In Christianity---specifically

It is the manifestation of Christ

To the gentiles

In the persons of the magi---the 3 wise men

I wonder

If they knew---really knew

That they were looking at God himself

All those years ago

Did they really have an epiphany

At that very moment

I don’t know

But I do know this

In Matthew 2

Matthew tells us he story

“Magi from the East

Came to Jerusalem and asked,

“Where is the one

Who was born King of the Jews

We saw his star in the East

And have come to worship him”

Pretty smart---these 3 wise men

And they brought gifts

Gifts befitting of a King

Gold-incense-and myrrh

And I do know this

Herod was worried enough

About his kingship

To want to kill our newborn baby King

He met with the Magi

And asked them to report to him

Where our baby could be found

But they were warned in a dream

They did not go back to Herod

And returned home

By another route

Pretty smart---these 3 wise men

I guess they did

Have an epiphany after all

“But you Bethlehem

In the land of Judah

Are by no means

Least among the rulers of Judah;

For out of you

Will come a ruler

Who will be the Shepherd

Of my people Israel”                                     Matthew 2:6

We could learn a lot

From these 3 wise men

I wonder---when or if

Our epiphany moment

Is going to come in today’s world

Robert P. Wallman

1-7-12

Ps                 today 1-6-13 is the feast of the Epiphany

WITNESS 1-7-13

THE PURPOSE OF LIFE

Have you ever thought

About what your purpose

In life is

I have

Over---and over---and over again

From my grade school days

From my Catholic upbringing

I know my purpose in life,

“Is to know, to love,

And to serve God”

But how do we do that?

To KNOW God

Not just know about him

But have a personal relationship with him

Where his being

Penetrates every single fiber

Of my---of our souls

To know him

Like we can know no one else

And to LET him know us

“You have made us

For yourself oh Lord

And our souls will not rest

Until they rest in you”

And to love God

Jesus himself told us,

“Love the Lord your God

With all your heart

And with all your soul 

And all you mind

This the first

And greatest commandment

And the second is like it

Love you neighbor as yourself

All the law and the prophets

Hang on these 2 commandments”                                             Matthew 22:37 through 40

We should do this

If for no other reason

Than Jesus did it

Look at his relationship

With his Father---God

He was totally obedient to him

Even to the point of death

And look at

How he treated others

The compassion, the healing, the LOVE

Those words that he uttered

Were NOT just words

They flowed

Through EVERY FIBER of his being

“What you do

To the least of my brothers

That you do unto me”

After James and John

Asked to sit

At his right and left in heaven

He called ALL the disciples together and said

“You know that those

Who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles

Lord it over them

And their high officials

Exercise authority over them

No so with you

Instead whoever wants to be great

Among you

Must be your servant

And whoever wants to be first

Must be slave to all

For even the Son of Man

Did not come to be served

But to serve

And to give his life

As a ransom for many”                                     Mark 10:42-45

In this selfish---me first culture

That we live in

It is NOT so easy

To live a life of service

To live a life

Where your stature---is

Well let’s just say

You are thought of

As beneath---as below others

It wasn’t any easier 2,000 years ago

When Jesus lived

“I have set an example

That you should do

As I have done for you

I tell you the truth

No servant is greater than his master

Nor a messenger

Greater than the one who sent him

Now that you know these things

You will be BLESSED

If you do them”                                                      John 13:15-17

The purpose of life

Is to know, love, and to SERVE GOD

Can I do it---Can you do it

The real question is:

WILL WE EVEN TRY?

Robert P. Wallman

9-20-11

Ps        WITNESS 1-6-13

TODAY I CALL YOU FRIEND

Is your

Relationship with God

Built on ideology

Or is it built on true love

A true love

Of God and others

I don’t care

What religion you are

Catholic or Christian

Muslim or Jew

If your relationship

With God

Is not built on a truly personal level

I suggest you go back

To square one

And start anew

Are you sharing every aspect

Of your life

With him

“I am the vine

You are the branches”

The good and the bad

That deepest darkest level

Of your soul

“Remain in me

And I will

Remain in you’

If you remain in the Lord

You are one of his branches

And he will NEVER be

Ashamed of you

He will call you FRIEND

The thing is

Faith is NOT about ideology

Faith is NOT

About your beliefs

Faith is having

A deep deep personal relationship

With Christ and God

On every level

“I have called you friend

For everything

That I have learned from my Father

I have made known to you”

“You did not choose me

I chose you

Go and bear fruit

Fruit---that will last”

“Today”---my son---my daughter

The Lord says,

“I CALL YOU FRIEND”

Robert P. Wallman 4-9-11

Ps        WITNESS 1-5-13

GOD IS OUR BEST FRIEND

WHO ARE YOUR SPEECH WRITERS

Bob Hope—the famous comedian

Was once asked  by a woman

In an airport,

“Can you say something funny?”

“No I can’t,”  Mr. Hope responded

“I don’t have my funny speech writers with me”

I guess he didn’t need them after all

Another famous man,

The great Catholic Bishop---Bishop Fulton Sheen

Was once asked,

“Do you have speech writers?”

Bishop Sheen responded,

“Well yes I do---

Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John”

Who are the speech writers

Of your life

Your parents---perhaps a trusted sibling

Some close friends

I suggest to you

That there are no accidents in life

We become

Who and what we choose to be

Who and what

We surround ourselves with

“If you are faithful in small things

You will be faithful in large”

For myself---like Bishop Fulton Sheen

The Bible has been

A source of great inspiration for me

The Bible has taught me

Of God’s unconditional love for me ( and you )

The Bible has taught me

That I am a child of God

And that my purpose in life

Is to love God

And to love others

“There is nothing

 In this world that I can do

To separate me

From the love of God”                                            Romans 8:37 & 38

If someone asked you tomorrow

“Who are the speech writers of your life?”

WHAT WOULD YOU SAY
HOW WOULD YOU ANSWER?

Robert P Wallman

7-22-11

WITNESS 1-3-13

“A Grateful Heart”

Oh Lord

You who

Have given us

So much

Give us one thing more

The gift

Of a grateful heart

In the Bible

Jesus tells the story

Of how

He healed 10 lepers

1 came back to thank him

What about us

Are we like the one

Or

Are we like the other 9

All we have

In this world

Comes from God

All we are

All we can ever become

Depends on God

What about us

Are we unreal

Are we selfish

Are we demanding

Are we proud and arrogant

Dear Lord

Please help us

To always be

Like the one leper

Who

Came back and said thank you

So finally Lord

We pray

You who have

Given us so much

Give us one thing more

The gift

Of A grateful heart                   

Robert P. Wallman        4/28/10

Ps        WITNESS 1-2-13

IN THE BEGINNING

In the beginning

You were a nothing

Sitting among a bunch of other nothings

High above the clouds

Looking down

At this planet we call earth

God decided to create you

Out of all the nothings

Because he loves you

With an everlasting---never-ending love

And he has given you work to do

That no one else

In this whole wide world can do

ONLY YOU

But now you are something

SOMETHING SPECIAL

 in this world

Because your adopted Father---GOD---loves you

Which makes you a CHILD OF GOD

And a sibling to our elder BROTHER---JESUS CHRIST

The word GENESIS means---

“IN THE BEGINNING”

And in the beginning

There was ONLY GOD---ONLY LOVE

The first book of the Bible

Is called Genesis

And that book

Forms the basis

For ALL further REVELATION ABOUT GOD

And his plan for all of mankind

Does that surprise you

It doesn’t me

God has a plan for you

God has a plan for me

A plan for---ALL men and women in this world

And that plan

Is MADE out of LOVE

Because he created this world---

He created you and me OUT OF LOVE

It is believed

That the book of GENESIS

Was written for the Israelites

But the PROMISES

That GOD made to them are timeless

And is set up

TO REVEAL GOD’S LOVE OF MANKIND

Through the life, death, and RESURRECTION

OF JESUS CHRIST

When Adam and Eve listened to Satan

Instead of obeying God’s plan

Sin was thrust in to this world

Sin prevails

Until God destroys the world through floods

Except for the righteous Noah

And his family

LOVE SURVIVED

We have to remember

That no matter how much

Hatred, violence, and disobedience that there are

In this world

This world LIVES ON

Love will survive---because GOD IS LOVE

God NEVER STOPS loving man

And by using Abraham and his family

He SAVES his people again

To have fellowship with them

God created man

For FELLOWSHIP with him

And we must always remember

God will NEVER GIVE UP ON US---or abandon us

BECAUSE HE LOVES US

The Lord our God

Has a plan

For every life

And EVERY single one of us

And GOD has the power

To protect us

If we place OUR FAITH AND TRUST IN HIM

So when this world

Finally does end

It will END IN LOVE

Just as it was

   

                                       IN THE BEGINNING

Robert P. Wallman

10-19-11

DON’T LOOK BACK

The great Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher, Satchel Paige, once said: 

“Don’t look back someone or something may be gaining on you”

And that is the way that I feel
About 2012-ABOUT CERTAIN BAGGAGE-

And certain problems I have been carrying

DON’T LOOK BACK

Put a new song

Into your heart

Put a new song

Into your soul

“He put a new song

In my mouth

A hymn of praise

To our God

Many will see and fear

And put their trust in the Lord”                                                      Psalm 40:3

Don’ look back

Put on a whole new you

Leave the baggage behind

As we move into 2013

“Neither do men

Pour new wine into old wineskins

If they do

The skins will burst

They will run out

And the wineskins

Will be ruined

No they pour new wine

Into new wineskins

And both are preserved”                                                                 Matthew 10:17

Don’t look back

Pour in the new wine

Into-the BRAND NEW YEAR

DON’T look back

Something

Or someone

Maybe gaining on you

Fill yourself with life

In 2013

Fill yourself with love

In 2013

And fill yourself with kindness

And forgiveness

Do ALL of this

In 2013

And don’t look back

And we will have

A brand new me

And a brand new you

Like the commercials say

“NEW and IMPROVED”

“Therefore

If anyone is in Christ

He is a new creation

The old has gone

The NEW has come”                                                                  2 Corinthians 5:17

DON’T LOOK BACK

To the new me and you

Filled with love

In 2013

Happy New Year

I LOVE YOU!

My friend

Robert P. Wallman

12-29-12

  

DON’T LOOK BACK

The great Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher, Satchel Paige, once said: 

“Don’t look back someone or something may be gaining on you”

And that is the way that I feel
About 2012-ABOUT CERTAIN BAGGAGE-

And certain problems I have been carrying

DON’T LOOK BACK

Put a new song

Into your heart

Put a new song

Into your soul

“He put a new song

In my mouth

A hymn of praise

To our God

Many will see and fear

And put their trust in the Lord”                                                      Psalm 40:3

Don’ look back

Put on a whole new you

Leave the baggage behind

As we move into 2013

“Neither do men

Pour new wine into old wineskins

If they do

The skins will burst

They will run out

And the wineskins

Will be ruined

No they pour new wine

Into new wineskins

And both are preserved”                                                                 Matthew 10:17

Don’t look back

Pour in the new wine

Into-the BRAND NEW YEAR

DON’T look back

Something

Or someone

Maybe gaining on you

Fill yourself with life

In 2013

Fill yourself with love

In 2013

And fill yourself with kindness

And forgiveness

Do ALL of this

In 2013

And don’t look back

And we will have

A brand new me

And a brand new you

Like the commercials say

“NEW and IMPROVED”

“Therefore

If anyone is in Christ

He is a new creation

The old has gone

The NEW has come”                                                                  2 Corinthians 5:17

DON’T LOOK BACK

To the new me and you

Filled with love

In 2013

Happy New Year

I LOVE YOU!

My friend

Robert P. Wallman

12-29-12