There is something apparently contradictory about today's readings. On one hand there is Paul's affirmation that "a man is justified by faith and not by doing something the law tells him to do". On the other hand, we have Deuteronomy and Matthew's Gospel warning us to put into practice what is prescribed by law.
Paul, in his Letter to the Romans, is undoubtedly referring to whatever is subject to the law, including all sorts of traditions created by man and which, helpful as they may be, can also stifle the Spirit. Salvation never comes from the law, but from the heart. It is received, not obtained.
In today's reading from Matthew, which is also the conclusion to the Sermon on the Mount, the emphasis is on 'hearing' and 'doing', which is presented as a firm foundation for life's unpredictability. Those lacking such a foundation will experience failure when they go through the 'storm', which stands for what we need to be prepared for in life.
This 'failure' is to not grasp what is really at stake in Christian life. It is the same failure of 'the great pretenders' in Matthew who enter into God's presence claiming by right what is in fact gratuitous - those who say "Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, cast out demons in your name, work many miracles in your name?" Even in Jesus' name, we may still be building on sand.
The solid foundation Jesus is speaking about refers to the constants in life. That is the elementary difference between what rock and sand represent. The reference to two kinds of people, which is commonplace in the Scriptures, represents not just the good who are rewarded and the wicked who are punished. As in today's readings, it also represents the two types of foundation on which we build our life, two fundamental attitudes towards life, two ways of doing things. The reading from Deuteronomy goes: "See, I set before you today a blessing and a curse". There are consequences for the choices we make, and the decisions we take mark our paths ahead.
Our moral teaching is usually thought of as telling people what they should do or must not do. So the Church is first and foremost seen as standing in judgment over people. But we should be asking ourselves what it means to teach the way to goodness. It's not just about rules and commandments. We need to return to an older vision which saw 'being good' as primarily about journeying towards God and happiness. What was central in that vision was not the commandments but the virtues.
Becoming 'good' is not about submission to rules but about knowing how to struggle with hard decisions and decide what is right as we shape our lives and choose which paths to take. This is what Paul is saying when he writes: "God's justice that was made known through the law and the prophets has now been revealed outside the law since a man is justified by faith and not by doing something the law tells him to do".
Today we tend to speak so much of a 'crisis of values' that we claim characterises our society. Perhaps in a civilisation at risk as ours is, we should instead be seeking to go back to virtue. This would amount to giving priority to those virtues which lay down the solid foundation for an authentic humanity. In theological jargon, the cardinal virtues of justice, wisdom, courage and moderation come before the so-called theological virtues of faith, hope and love. It's our humanity that serves as the foundation for our being Christians.