The word of the Lord in Ezekiel is direct:

“If a wicked person turns away from all his sins…
he shall surely live; he shall not die.”

God speaks here not of reputation,
but of change.

Not of past history,
but of present turning.

Conversion is not a theory.
It is movement.

And God insists on something important:

“I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked,
but that the wicked turn from his way and live.”

Judgment is real.
But mercy is God’s desire.

Yet the passage also contains a warning.

“When a righteous person turns away from his righteousness
and does injustice…
none of the righteous deeds that he has done shall be remembered.”

This is not unfairness.
It is truth.

Faithfulness is not stored like money in a bank.
It must be lived.

Holiness is not a past achievement.
It is a present obedience.

This prepares us for the words of Jesus.

“Unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees,
you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”

Jesus is not asking for more rules.
He is asking for deeper truth.

The scribes and Pharisees kept the Law outwardly.
Jesus demands the heart.

“You have heard that it was said,
‘You shall not murder.’
But I say to you
that everyone who is angry with his brother
will be liable to judgment.”

Jesus does not lower the standard.
He raises it.

He shows that violence begins before the blow.
It begins in resentment.

And he goes further.

“If you are offering your gift at the altar
and there remember that your brother has something against you,
leave your gift there…
first be reconciled.”

Worship without reconciliation
is incomplete.

God does not accept sacrifice
that protects hatred.

The Gospel today is not about avoiding murder.
It is about refusing to live with division.

Anger, insult, contempt —
these are not harmless emotions.
They fracture communion.

And communion is what God desires.

This is where today’s martyrs stand.

Margaret Clitherow, Anne Line, and Margaret Ward
lived in a time when fidelity to the Catholic faith
was treated as treason.

They did not take up weapons.
They did not lead revolts.

They hid priests.
They protected the Mass.
They kept the Church alive in secret.

They were executed
not for hatred,
but for loyalty.

They were offered freedom
if they would conform.

They chose obedience instead.

Their lives show us
what Ezekiel and Jesus both mean.

Conversion is not only turning away from sin.
It is turning toward truth.

Righteousness is not merely avoiding wrong.
It is standing for what is right
even when it costs.

And their witness also speaks
to the Gospel’s demand for reconciliation.

They did not die
as enemies of their country.

They died
as faithful Catholics
who prayed for their persecutors.

They refused bitterness.
They refused revenge.
They refused to answer injustice
with contempt.

They allowed Christ
to shape their hearts
as well as their actions.

This is the righteousness
that exceeds the Pharisees.

Not rule-keeping without love.
But obedience that remains merciful.

The danger for us
is to treat righteousness
as an image to protect.

To be correct outwardly
but divided inwardly.

To worship God
while nursing resentment.

To avoid obvious sin
while harbouring quiet contempt.

Jesus will not accept that division.

Reconciliation is not optional.

Not because anger is dramatic,
but because it is corrosive.

It eats at communion.

And communion
is what salvation restores.

Ezekiel says:

“When the wicked turns away from his wickedness…
he shall save his life.”

Jesus says:

“First be reconciled to your brother.”

The martyrs show us
what this looks like in flesh and blood.

They were not saved by nostalgia.
They were not saved by past virtue.

They were saved by present fidelity.

And that fidelity
included charity.

Not soft charity.
But costly charity.

The kind that does not answer hatred
with hatred.

The kind that does not separate worship
from obedience.

The kind that stands for truth
without surrendering mercy.

So the question today is not:

Have we been righteous?

It is:

Are we being reconciled?

Are we turning away from what divides?

Are we choosing truth
with love?

Ezekiel tells us
that the past can be left behind.

Jesus tells us
that the heart must be healed.

And the martyrs remind us that this healing is not theoretical.

It is lived even to death.

Righteousness is not a mask. It is a way.

And the way of Christ leads always
through repentance
into communion.