Spring Cleaning
“Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love;
according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions.
Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.”
“Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me.”
– Psalm 51:1-2, 10
We can hardly believe it’s happening, but it looks like spring has actually arrived, and we’re certainly giving it an enthusiastic welcome. After several days of blue skies and sunshine, we’re so happy that even the prospect of yard and house-related chores sounds kind of fun. If it means we’re outdoors and/or have windows open, who could complain?
I recently read a couple of newspaper and magazine articles that featured tips on how to do spring cleaning, and I absolutely could not relate to them. These experts’ idea of spring cleaning was what my mother did every week! I had a flashback to my childhood, however, recalling my mother tackling the seasonal cleaning of our big old house with gusto. Rugs were beaten, curtains washed and ironed, and every surface was scrubbed or polished, whatever it needed. I was too young to really understand all this work, but windows were open, fresh air floated in, and I loved all the activity.
Both the Old and New Testaments have a number of references to being clean, to cleanse, washing, purity, and similar terms referring to many kinds of cleanliness. Safe practices with food were important for health, and clean water was as essential then as it is today. It’s only natural that sinfulness and being estranged from God is considered an unclean state, and in Psalm 51, the writer begs to be washed from iniquity and cleansed from sin. The images of these words are as vivid now as when they were first written.
To be aware of our sinful ways and shortcomings as mortals, and to know that this is not a hopeless state of being is a central message in the Gospels and throughout the New Testament. Jesus used the waters of baptism to illustrate how the old sins are washed away and the new Christian emerges. The Apostle Paul, in his many letters, explains that exterior cleanliness is not sufficient — what truly matters is what’s in a person’s heart. We are assured that we can turn to God with confidence and ask to be made clean from all our sins, knowing that God’s mercy is not rationed out in small doses.
I enjoy the image of spring cleaning in our personal and spiritual lives — beating out dust, washing away dinginess, getting into even the dark corners and cleaning them out. We can scrub away bad habits, sweep out anger and dissension, and polish up our tarnished spirits. And even though the task may seem beyond our abilities at times, we will not lose heart, but continue working together, strengthened through Christ our Lord.
Your friend in Christ,
Mary Rogers