***Meditation hymn begins at minute 14:05 ***

There is a strange inversion at the heart of the Gospel: the One who had every right to command became the One who obeyed. Christ, “though he was in the form of God,” emptied Himself and took “the form of a servant” (Philippians 2:6–7). He did not merely come near to our misery. He entered it.

We speak of sin as though it were only a list of bad choices. But anyone who has tried to escape a habit, a resentment, a lust, a fear, or a selfishness knows that sin can become a kind of slavery. We discover, with St. Paul, that we often do not do the good we wish to do. Something in us is terribly sick. And it is precisely there that Christ comes.

He takes upon Himself the condition of the slave, the Bible tells us, not because He is enslaved, but because we are. He takes our mortal, wounded flesh, the very flesh in which our bondage is so often felt. The hands that created the stars become hands that can be pierced. The body that belongs wholly to God is given wholly for us. This is the astonishing generosity of Christianity: God does not stand at a safe distance and shout instructions to prisoners. He enters the prison. And more than that, He gives His own body as the price of our freedom.

The Christian therefore does not begin with the question, “How can I make myself good enough for God?” The answer would be terribly small if that were the Gospel. We begin instead with the fact that God has come down into the depths where we are and has given Himself for us. The chains are not broken by our heroic strength, but by His sacrificial love. Christ becomes what we are, so that we may receive what He is. The slave who is Christ is therefore the Lord who sets slaves free. And the cross, which appears to be the ultimate picture of defeat, becomes the doorway into liberty.

If you’re still on the fence about coming to the Well, this Thursday October 1st, come encounter Jesus. We learn about how our bodies play a pivotal role in God’s plan. We no longer have to live as slaves to sin, to lust, to sickness and to the suffering that we experience so often with our bodies. The Church offers us freedom, true lasting freedom in Jesus Christ. Come learn and experience how this Thursday. If you are thirsty, come to the eternal Well. Get your tickets!