A news poll on a local radio station this week reported that some 45% of us will resolve to lose weight or become more active this year; 5% will resolve to quit smoking; 10% of us will try to spend less and 30% of us will refuse to make a resolution at all.

I think it would be interesting if they published another poll at the beginning of February to see how many folks actually kept their resolutions, and which resolutions were most effectively followed. …

My guess is that the numbers would surprise many of us as we might anticipate that few people really do actually keep their New Year’s Resolution.

On the other hand, have you ever known someone to quit smoking or to lose weight and become more active in the days, weeks and months following a heart attack?

New Year’s resolutions don’t often work because they are a response to some kind of vague sense of duty, obligation or a sense of trying to be better or healthier. Getting in shape after a sudden medical crisis has a much deeper and more intense truth to it, and consequently a more effective and long term effect.

It is funny how a deep and effective change follows some kind of negative life changing event. It doesn’t always have to be that way.

In the church, around New Years, we celebrate feast day called “Epiphany” and it is the day that we set aside to revisit the journey of the wise men from the East who come to the cradle of the Christ Child in Bethlehem.

The story is that these men were likely astrologers of some sort, very learned men to be sure, who watched the sky. They noticed a new star brighter than the others which seemed to beckon them to follow.

They do, encountering King Herod along the way. Herod, to put it mildly, was a nasty and brutal ruler, and those who lived in his realm feared for their lives whenever he was displeased. The wise men had learned that the star should lead them to a new king and they went to the old king to ask where they might find the child.

Herod was not pleased with the news but slyly tried to convince the wise men to find the child and bring him news that he too might go and pay his respects. Of course, that wasn’t his plan at all. Herod wanted to kill this rival king.

The wise men journey to Bethlehem and find Jesus and his mother at home. They were overwhelmed with joy and gave to Jesus gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. The men, having been warned in a dream, returned home by another road.

I like that last line, “returned home by another road” as it speaks of a change of direction, the sense that one cannot continue on the way one has. This is what Epiphany is all about.

Epiphany means ‘manifestation’ or ‘revelation’ or ‘making known’. The Epiphany to the wise men was found in the Christ Child. When the wise men encount ered God, there was a transformation. They found what they were looking for and also saw the miracle of God’s grace. The wise men fell down in worship and they rested in this place. They responded in gratitude, in thanksgiving with gifts of treasure.

Their hearts are no longer the same and they return home by another road. The must walk another way. Not the way of Herod – power, fear and oppression, but the way of Jesus – hope, compassion and freedom …their lives will never be the same.

The wise men did not set out with a New Year’s resolution to try to make their lives better and healthier and richer, but on their journey the encountered

One who would change their lives forever, One who would give them life in abundance, One who gives sight to the blind, hope to the despairing and light to those who sit in darkness.

There’s another reason why New Year’s resolutions don’t stick … we try to do them on our own. Change and transformation are a team effort.

Oh, it starts with the individual’s desire and hope, but it is supported, encouraged and assisted by others along the way who monitor progress, give feedback and offer help when needed. The wise men had each other to help them on the way.

We have the church, which by the way isn’t the building we meet in, but rather the people who meet there.

The community of faith gathers to support, encourage and help one another on the journey of life through all the changes and transformations and epiphanies that come along.

Have you had an epiphany, one of those “ahha” moments that have called you to respond differently, to walk a different path? Want some folks to walk with? Check out one of the area’s churches or other faith groups to find out more.

There is Light for the dark places in your life.