RISE and Shine to Live Your Greatness!

Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed!

Someone sent me this story about three men that died and are at the pearly gates of heaven. St. Peter tells them that they can enter the gates if they can answer one simple question. St. Peter asks the first person, “What is Easter?” He replies, “Oh, that’s easy! It’s the holiday in November when people get together, eat turkey, and are thankful...” “Wrong!” replies St. Peter, and he doesn’t let him in.

St. Peter asks the second guy, “What is Easter?” The second one replies, “Easter is the holiday in December when we put up a nice tree, exchange presents, and celebrate the birth of Jesus.” St. Peter looks at the second guy, shakes his head in disgust, tells him he’s wrong, and sends him away.

Then he peers over his glasses at the third guy and asks, “What is Easter?” The third guy smiles confidently and looks St. Peter in the eyes, “I know what Easter is.” “Oh?” says St. Peter incredulously.

“Easter is the Christian holiday that coincides with the Jewish celebration of Passover. Jesus and his disciples were eating the last supper, and Jesus was later deceived and turned over to the Romans by one of his disciples.

“The Romans took him to be crucified. They made him wear a crown of thorns and hung him on a cross with nails through his hands. He was buried in a nearby cave sealed off by a large boulder.”

St. Peter smiles broadly with delight. Then the third man continues, “Every year the boulder is moved aside so that Jesus can come out...and, if he sees his shadow, there will be six more weeks of winter.”

A miss is as good as a mile! I wonder if this could happen. Do we have any human on earth that doesn’t know what Easter is about?

There are two parts to Easter: historical fact and present reality. Joe Rogan asked one of his interviewees, “How could you even know if Jesus existed since it was 2,000 years ago?” My answer is simple; the calendar we use begins with the birth of Christ, but who cares about the birth of Christ if there is no resurrection of Christ?

The resurrection of Jesus Christ divided human history into two parts—B.C. and A.D. (or, to be politically correct, BCE and C.E.) Everyone on earth makes reference to Jesus Christ when they put down their signature. Christian or not, when you sign a document, you must put the date next to it, referencing the Anno Domini—the Year of the Lord.

So, when I look at the calendar, I see the evidence of Easter. However, Easter is not just a fascinating historical event but has an equal impact on our present reality. We believe not because Jesus changed our history but because he changed our lives by adding meaning to our lives. Easter empowers us to do great things. Jesus said,

“Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father.” (Jn 14:12).

Christians are not supposed to be pew potatoes but commissioned to do greater works than Jesus did. Don’t ask who am I to do such things, but ask how Jesus has empowered us to accomplish greatness. Last week, when I talked about the Last Supper, I quoted Shakespeare. I want to remind you again because Easter completes this same theme.

“Be not afraid of greatness.
Some are born great, some achieve greatness,
and others have greatness thrust upon them.” ― William Shakespeare

Which category do you belong to? Are you born great? Have you achieved greatness? Most of us belong to the third category—we have greatness thrust upon us because Jesus left us with a Great Commission to reconcile the world.

Easter empowers you to rise above yourself and fulfill the greatness thrust upon you, reminding you not to settle for less. As Shakespeare said, “Be not afraid of greatness.”

So, as we celebrate Easter, let’s renew our faith, courage, and commitment to RISE and shine! And live our greatness. Let’s look at how we can make it happen based on Jesus’ last words before he returned to the Father. Let’s begin!