Readings: Romans 12:1–5 & Luke 2:42–52
Theme: The Hidden Offering of the Body and the Obedience of the Son
“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercy of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, pleasing unto God, your reasonable service.” (Rom 12:1)
“And He went down with them, and came to Nazareth: and was subject to them.” (Lk 2:51)
On this twelfth day of January, a quiet day in the liturgical calendar, the Church places before us two readings that—while seemingly modest—shine with hidden splendor. From the epistle to the Romans, we are called to offer our bodies as “a living sacrifice,” and from the Gospel according to St. Luke, we behold the twelve-year-old Christ, in the Temple with the doctors, then returning home to live in obedience to His earthly parents.
It is no coincidence that both passages deal with the body—its presentation, its submission, its sanctification—not in dramatic martyrdom or external signs of power, but in humble, daily fidelity.
The Reasonable Sacrifice: Romans 12:1–5
St. Paul’s exhortation to the Romans strikes at the heart of the Christian life: self-offering. Not merely in spirit or word, but in body. The Apostle does not ask us to die in fire or sword—though such may come—but to live continually as sacrifices, alive and pleasing to God. This is what he calls our “reasonable service”—logikē latreia—our spiritual worship that is in accord with reason.
St. John Chrysostom comments beautifully on this, saying:
“How is the body to become a sacrifice? Let the eye look on nothing evil, and it has become a sacrifice. Let the tongue speak nothing filthy, and it has become a sacrifice. Let thy hand do no lawless deed, and it has become a whole burnt offering.” (Homily XX on Romans)
Thus, to offer our body is to sanctify our daily actions—to make our very flesh an altar where God is glorified in the hidden chambers of obedience and purity. In this we are united to the Mystical Body, as St. Paul continues: “For as in one body we have many members… so we, being many, are one body in Christ.” (Rom 12:4–5)
This unity in the Mystical Body calls for humility. St. Augustine reminds us:
“Let us rejoice, then, and give thanks that we have become not only Christians, but Christ Himself. For if He is the head, we are the members: the whole man is He and we.” (Tractates on the Gospel of John, 21.8)
Therefore, our daily sanctification—our spiritual service—is not private piety only, but ecclesial. The more hidden it is, the more it builds the Body of Christ.
The Obedient Son: Luke 2:42–52
From the Temple in Jerusalem to the household in Nazareth, the Gospel presents us with a mystery as deep as the Incarnation itself: the Eternal Word submitting Himself to human parents.
At twelve years of age, Our Lord remains behind in the Temple, among the doctors. He is not there in disobedience, but in divine purpose, to show—even now—that He is about His Father’s business. And yet, when Mary and Joseph return in sorrow to find Him, He submits to them and returns home.
St. Ambrose writes:
“He was subject that He might instruct us in virtue; and that the young might be taught by example, to reverence their elders.” (Exposition of the Gospel of Luke, Book II)
Here is the same body—now the very Body of the Incarnate Word—being offered in obedience. Not yet on Calvary, but in the household. Not yet in blood, but in submission. He Who governs the stars lowers Himself to the command of a carpenter.
And St. Bede the Venerable adds:
“He remained hidden in Nazareth that He might show humility; He returned to the Temple that He might instruct us.” (Homily I on the Gospel)
This Gospel reading stands as a mirror to the epistle: the Son offers His own human body in obedience; we are to offer ours in sacrifice. He hides Himself in Nazareth; we are to find holiness in our Nazareths—our homes, duties, and labors.
Conclusion: Sanctity in the Hidden Life
On this IV classis day of January, the Church teaches us not by feasts or trumpets, but by quiet readings that reveal the essence of holiness: the sanctification of the ordinary, the offering of our lives, the obedience of love.
St. Thérèse of Lisieux, echoing the saints before her, would call this the “little way.” But it is also the great way, the way of Christ in Nazareth and of the faithful soul in Rome: to offer all, even the unnoticed, to God.
May we, like the Christ Child, descend in obedience.
May we, like the saints, offer our bodies as living sacrifices.
And may we, in this humble service, build up the Body of Christ.
Prayer for the Day (adapted from the Roman Breviary):
O God, Who didst teach Thy faithful to offer Thee the sacrifice of a pure heart and holy life, grant us, we beseech Thee, grace to present ourselves as a living oblation unto Thee, following the example of Thine only-begotten Son, Who was subject to His earthly parents and grew in grace and favor with God and men. Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.