Victory Unveiled
Vol. 57 No. 19 Easter Sunday April 5, 2026
All the way through Lent, the Church has been veiled in Lenten array, a token of repentance and sorrow for our sins, which were the cause of Christ’s passion. When the veils come down on Easter, it is a sign that in the resurrection of Jesus the hidden victory of the cross is revealed — unveiled — in accord with the prophecy of Isaiah, that God would destroy “the vail that is spread over all nations” and “swallow up death in victory” (Isaiah 25:7–8).
But before we can understand the unveiling, we must consider the veil itself. To the outward eye, the cross appears to be proof of man’s cruelty and the triumph of brute power. Public crucifixion was meant to degrade, to intimidate, and to crush hope. At the cross, the world invites us to believe in the triumph of strength over weakness, of winners over losers, of sin over righteousness and death over life — and too often, we do believe it. But the Gospels bear witness to the saving work of God hidden beneath the veil of sin and death, of shame and suffering. Jesus went to the cross willingly, determined to complete the work the Father had given him to do — to bear witness to the truth, and to offer himself for us sinners. The powers of evil did their worst to him, but they could not turn him from the perfect accomplishment of the Father’s will. His death is not defeat but the mission victoriously accomplished. Easter is the unveiling of that hidden victory: the acceptance of the sacrifice, the vindication of the witness, and the overthrow of the dark powers which hold mankind in thrall.
There are three aspects to the unveiling of this victory: in himself, in us, and in the act of faith itself.
First, he unveils his victory in himself. “By his death he destroyed death, and by his rising to life again he restored to us everlasting life.” What appeared to be the triumph of evil is revealed — in his risen and glorified body — as the triumph of God’s saving purpose. In Christ, in virtue of his completed return to the Father in body and soul, our humanity attains the glory for which it was made, and the joy of everlasting life. In his resurrection he calls us out of sorrow into the joy of resurrection — the joy that has no end, because it is grounded in the life that cannot die.
Second, he unveils his victory in us. What Christ has accomplished for us in his own resurrection is accomplished in us who believe in him. Our true humanity was veiled and disfigured by the guilt of sin, the power of sin, and the penalty of sin. In virtue of his resurrection, these veils are progressively removed in three stages: justification by faith, by which we are delivered from the guilt of sin; sanctification in good works, by which we are delivered from its power; and glorification, by which we will be delivered from the penalty of sin in the resurrection of our own bodies to eternal glory.
Third, he unveils our eyes. What Christ has done for us is of no value to us so long as we remain separated from him. What he has accomplished for us cannot be accomplished in us unless we are united to him as one body. It is through faith that we are united to him in his body the Church, and share in the power of his victory. And it is the risen Lord himself who makes us capable of faith. As the Easter Gospels show, it is by Christ’s coming to his disciples that the veil of blindness and grief is removed from their minds, and they pass from doubt to faith, from perplexity to understanding, from sorrow to joy. On Easter their story becomes our story, as the risen Christ comes to us by his Spirit, to raise us from blindness to sight, from doubt to faith, and thereby from sin to righteousness, from death to life. Our work at Easter is to follow where he leads us: out of darkness into his own glorious light.
“Thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Corinthians 15:57