First Sunday after the Epiphany AD 2026

God has given us the fullness of His grace, for in his Son made man, He has given us Himself. Jesus Christ, true God and true man, the incarnate Word of God, has taken upon Himself our human nature and redeemed us by His holy life, suffering, death and resurrection. Christ, our true High Priest, offered Himself as a sacrifice to take away our sins, to save us from death and the power of evil, and to raise us to a new, true life.

We live by the grace and mercy of God, we have been saved by His grace, we have been given a new and eternal life. How does this influence and shape our lives? Saint Paul urges us to offer ourselves to God as a living, holy and acceptable sacrifice, to serve him with the reasonable service.

By reasonable service, Saint Paul means a worship of God that is in accordance with the truth and that proceeds from the will of God, tested and clearly perceived in faith. At the center of this reasonable service is Christ, in whom we have access to God’s grace and to a true, God-pleasing life that is in perfect harmony with His will. If we abide in Christ, we can, like Him, increase in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.