Create in Me A Clean Heart

Eliot Spitzer had a real bad day yesterday. Today will be just as bad, if not worse. Did I mention tomorrow? Spitzer is the governor of New York State, and he got there as a hard-hitting District Attorney who went after crooks, including those who ran and used prostitution rings. So what did Spitzer do? He availed himself of prostitutes -- often it now appears-- and he was caught and publicly humiliated. There is a good chance he will loss his job.

Pundits have rushed to offer opinions about why people -- mostly men-- get embroiled in these situations. The basic answer is, because they can. The saying is that power is the ultimate aphrodisiac and there is a "rush" from doing those things which put one above the law, including the law of God. The media outlets have been offering a long list of powerful people who have been caught and usually humbled in similar messy situations.

We began Lent on Ash Wednesday with Psalm 51, the psalm of contrition, the cry of the heart by King David. David was the prototypical high-powered adulterer who compounded his sin by arranging the murder of Bathsheba's husband, Uriah. He makes Eliot Spitzer look tame. There was no media frenzy back then but David was "outed" by the prophet Nathan and his grievious errors have been part of the story of Jews and Christians for 3000 years. How's that for a story with staying power!

David eventually realized his sinful ways and begged God's forgiveness. Of course this is a message for all of us, in every age. In Psalm 51 we find these phrases which lead us through a process of contrition and restoration:

Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love...
You desire truth in the inward being...
Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities...
Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me...
Restore to me the joy of your salvation...