by Deacon Dan Barone

You may have experienced this at one time or another.  You have an itch somewhere between your shoulders, or somewhere on your back.  Try as you might, you just cannot relive yourself of that itch.  No door frame or bamboo back scratcher (in the shape of a hand) can alleviate your misery.  Nothing you do seems to satisfy your need…until this happens…someone, other than yourself, scratches your itch for you.  Yeah…that’s it…that’s the spot.  Why does it always seem to feel better and be more satisfying when someone else scratches your itch?  Then, when they are done, you do not want them to stop…it feels that good.  Interesting, is it not?  Much needed relief through the effort of someone else.

That last sentence reminds me of another situation where we receive much needed relief through the efforts of someone else.  Relief from what…and through whose efforts?  Well…the relief is from sin, and the effort is through Jesus the Christ.  During these few weeks of Spring, Christians celebrate the events of Easter.  The celebration of Jesus the Christ rising from a tomb.  A tomb where He lay after having been crucified, then dying on a cross.  Then, after the third day was raised to life again.  Why?  For what purpose?  Well, in a nutshell, for our relief…from sin.  Through His dying on the cross, Jesus the Christ took the destructive power out of sin.  Through His rising from the tomb, Jesus the Christ reopened the gates of paradise to us.  To once again enjoy an intimate relationship with God the Father.  A relationship that no matter what we do on our own, would not be satisfying or even possible, without Jesus’ efforts.  Rest assured of this, if we experience an “itch” because of sin, Jesus will be there to scratch that “itch”.