Walk in the Light

Seems to be a lot of spiders out for Halloween this year. They are in yards, on roofs and climbing about in all manner of webs. They seem to come in two sizes: big and bigger. Some are lit at night. Others remain as black as can possibly be. Spiders and spider webs are a staple of haunted houses and all things Halloween.

Almost 20 years ago, I was appointed to a church that had an annual Halloween tradition named the “Haunted Hayride”. On the back acreage of the property was a wooded area with a pond. It was dark and removed from the parking lots and lighting around the facility. It was perfect for such an adventure.

My first year as pastor, I was asked if I could drive a tractor. “Of course!” was my immediate, though not completely honest, reply. The tractor would pull the hay-filled wagon through various scenes of horror as it wound its way through the trees. Webs and spiders greeted you at the entrance of the trip. Before I drove my first group through, I managed to get the tractor and wagon stuck firmly between two trees. In an instant, the vampires and cannibals and bats and spiders were not the scariest thing in the dark among those trees. The scariest thing was admitting I was stuck and walking away to the jeers and cheers of a wagon load of people I would see again very, very soon.

The things that scare us can come in all shapes and sizes. Some are big things that we see coming, yet we find ourselves unable to get out of their way. Other scary things are small and silent. Like a spider, they sneak up on us before we are aware. Many times it is walking through through the web that alerts us that something is amiss. Many times the things that scare us trap us in the web of fear and anger and helplessness. It is difficult to be free from a web; it just seems to cling to us, does it not?

Spiders became associated with Halloween, they say, because spiders generally prefer to dwell in the dark places. Another reason to follow the admonition to “walk in the light” as Jesus walked in the light. It is in the light that hope lives. It is in the light that we see we are not alone. And, at the very least, in the light we can avoid a spider or two along the way.

Peace,

Barry