What Can A Spider Teach Us?

Last Friday, I noticed a small spider on the inside of our screen door. It is often my responsibility at home to remove spiders, one way or another. There is a misconception that we can get spider bites. Scientists explain that this very seldom happens, as we are not natural enemies of spiders. They only bite in order to save their lives if they feel they are cornered or threatened. In fact, spiders do have good purpose in eliminating other insects that may wander within a person’s home, or insects that feed on and destroy garden vegetables. They can be nature’s insecticide.

Yet spiders can seem scary. They look strange, move quickly, and sometimes even jump. Not to mention what we may have seen in horror movies. Yikes!

As I tried to open the screen door to set the spider free, it jumped to one side and vanished quickly into an opening at the bottom of the screen door.

I sometimes feel guilty when asked to kill spiders. I do not remember much from my second grade class at Our Lady of Knock School, but I do remember one of the Dominican sisters sharing a fascinating story of a spider who saved Jesus. It is just a fictional story though, passed down from Eastern Europe and the Middle East, and has no factual basis that I am aware of.

The story goes that, as Mary and Joseph fled with baby Jesus to Egypt to protect Him from King Herod, one evening they hid in a small shelter. According to the legend, a tiny spider spun a web across the entrance to their hut, finishing just before Herod’s soldiers arrived. Seeing the web untouched, the soldiers assumed no one could possibly be hiding inside, and so they moved on. In this way, the Holy Family was protected.

The tiny spider became part of God’s plan. The spider did not have strength, wealth, good looks so to speak, or power. It simply did what it was created to do.

The moral of the story is that we should not be tempted to think we are too unimportant to make a difference. God often works through ordinary people like you and me. Our small acts of love as seen in a kind word, a visit to someone who is lonely, a moment of forgiveness, or helping someone quietly, may seem small, but can change lives. Like a spider’s web, small acts done with love can be instruments of God’s grace to others.

There is a big lesson here for each of us, and the reason that I do not like killing spiders.

By: Deacon Tom Gryzbek