hello i was wondering if theres away to clear the codes in my 97 jetta 2.0

It must be done with a scanner. Autozone & Aadvanced Auto will usually scan & reset for free.

auto zone has a scanner but they want reset my codes becuase they say that resetting the codes might mess up the computer

Do you mean the coding of the control units or fault codes?erasing fault codes does not effect the computer.
Coding of the control units isn't advised unless you're doing it to have different configurations/options on your car-which on a 97 jetta i doubt you would be.