This morning I read Psalm 51. This is a great Psalm to read when you are struggling with a particular sin or have recognized something in your behavior that needs to change. It's about cleansing and pardon. This is actually the Scriptural source for the lavabo, the washing of the hands that the priest does before the Eucharistic prayer, where he quietly says to himself, "Lord, wash away my inequity, cleanse me of my sin."
The part of this Psalm that resonates with me is "Create in me a clean heart, O God." I love that term, "a clean heart." I tend to worry about cleaning my house, my desk, even my mind, and these tasks are good, but I don't always work on a clean heart. And I don't ask God nearly enough to create that in me. I need to ask Him to do that, because I can clean my house, my desk and my mind (the latter only with a lot of effort), but I can't clean my own heart. Me trying to clean my own heart is as futile as me trying to make the sun rise. It's in Someone else's job description and far beyond human ability.
The cleansing language of this Psalm is beautifully coupled with the acknowledgement that "the sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit." (Psalm 51:17). This doesn't mean God wishes us to be in despair, but rather contrite. He wants us to recognize our wrongs and be sorry for them. This, as the Psalm tells us, is the acceptable sacrifice. He doesn't ask for eloquent prayers or constant begging for forgiveness. He asks for simple sorrow for our sins against Him.
My younger brother Jeffrey had a speech impediment as a child, and when he had done wrong, he would walk right up to your face and say, "I solly, solly, solly." He meant it, too. It was really a beautiful way of making amends, though he surely only needed the one "solly." That was Jeffrey's way of emphasizing when he was little--to repeat words. I think that would be the only gentle critique God would have given Jeffrey. He only needed to say it once.
The part of this Psalm that resonates with me is "Create in me a clean heart, O God." I love that term, "a clean heart." I tend to worry about cleaning my house, my desk, even my mind, and these tasks are good, but I don't always work on a clean heart. And I don't ask God nearly enough to create that in me. I need to ask Him to do that, because I can clean my house, my desk and my mind (the latter only with a lot of effort), but I can't clean my own heart. Me trying to clean my own heart is as futile as me trying to make the sun rise. It's in Someone else's job description and far beyond human ability.
The cleansing language of this Psalm is beautifully coupled with the acknowledgement that "the sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit." (Psalm 51:17). This doesn't mean God wishes us to be in despair, but rather contrite. He wants us to recognize our wrongs and be sorry for them. This, as the Psalm tells us, is the acceptable sacrifice. He doesn't ask for eloquent prayers or constant begging for forgiveness. He asks for simple sorrow for our sins against Him.
My younger brother Jeffrey had a speech impediment as a child, and when he had done wrong, he would walk right up to your face and say, "I solly, solly, solly." He meant it, too. It was really a beautiful way of making amends, though he surely only needed the one "solly." That was Jeffrey's way of emphasizing when he was little--to repeat words. I think that would be the only gentle critique God would have given Jeffrey. He only needed to say it once.
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