Synchronicity and reflections on the reading

Today is the feast of Matthew the Evangelist and although I would be inclined to discern some nugget of wisdom from his life, something happened which relates that I would rather mention.

Today's gospel reading concerns itself with the calling of Matthew (not a shock, I'm sure). What caught my eye is the last verse of the reading, where Jesus answers the Pharisees who question his consorting with traitors and sinners.

Then he added, “Now go and learn the meaning of this Scripture: ‘I want you to show mercy, not offer sacrifices.’ For I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.” (Mat.9:13)

The scripture which Christ references are the words of YHWH given to Hosea, the whole verse reading as such.

כִּ֛י חֶ֥סֶד חָפַ֖צְתִּי וְלֹא־ זָ֑בַח וְדַ֥עַת אֱלֹהִ֖ים מֵעֹלֹֽות׃

"I want you to show love, not offer sacrifices. I want you to know Me more than I want burnt offerings." (Hosea 6:6)

As I pondered this, my radio station started playing their weekly 30 minutes of Alan Watts.  In his talk, Watts talked about the Zen cultivation of spontaneity, of acting from a state of being rather than a following of structure or rules.  I wonder if that is not, at the core of it, what Christ (and YHWH via Hosea) is on about.  The forms of things, the sacrifices and prohibitions, the burnt offerings and rosaries...they are unimportant.  It is the knowing of the Divine, the being righteous (not acting righteous) which is the central message.

When I studied Tai Chi, you learn certain movements.  These movements are linked together to create a form.  The essence of Tai Chi is to forget the form, which is to say to get to a point where one no longer thinks about what you are doing and just follow the motion.  One stops thinking about breathing, thinking about moving, thinking about thinking.  Just....be.

Just be that child of God that you are.