March 1/First Wednesday of Lent
A clean heart create for me, O God, and a steadfast spirit renew within me. ~ Ps 51.12
Makeover
Years ago when I was living in New York, I would walk through grand department stores like Saks Fifth Avenue or Lord & Taylor and wish that I had the courage to sit down at one of the makeup counters for the full “makeover” – the rouge, the eyeliner, the lipstick, the works. Even though I have never been a makeup wearer, I imagined that this process would draw forth some previously undetected beauty – and also, perhaps, give rise to a different person than the uncertain, unhappy young woman I sometimes was in those days. Maybe it’s the same in our prayer life. Not wanting to accept who we are, flawed, confused, and sinful, we look to God to provide external solutions. The source of the problem lies outside ourselves, we think; we deflect responsibility by finding excuses, making rationalizations, pointing the finger at others. It’s tempting to outsource blame. But the psalmist is having none of it. He knows that he doesn’t need a change of environment or a change of circumstance; he needs a change of heart. The Hebrew word for “create” is a verb of which God alone is the subject in the Old Testament. This is the God of Genesis who creates the heaven and earth in a stately unfolding; this is the God of Isaiah who ringingly announces his re-creation in Isaiah 65.17: “For I am about to create new heavens and a new earth.” And this is the God who will transform, renew, and cleanse our hearts as he lifts us from the quagmire of sin into the light of his forgiveness. But he can only make us over if we muster up the courage to step up to the counter and ask for his help.
Creative and merciful Lord, Renew my heart and refresh my spirit this day and every day, so that I may begin anew, cleansed by your mercy and refreshed by your grace. Amen.
To hear Dame Emma Kirkby sing “Schaffe in mir, Gott” (“Create in me, O God…”) by Dietrich Buxtehude, click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ys43cYUsPE
For today’s readings, click here: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/030123.cfm
