Spring is a beautiful time of year in northern Europe. Its early signs come well before its culmination in all its vibrant colours. Snowdrops peep out of the frozen ground, followed by crocuses, daffodils, primroses and bluebells. Deciduous trees grow bright new leaves and the dull grey clouds break apart to allow patches of blue sky and bright sunshine. A wide variety of shrubs and flowers burst into blossom. The days lengthen and the air grows warmer.
This season lifts the spirits of those of us who have toiled through a long, dark winter, and the joy is expressed in ancient festivities which have become Easter and Whitsun (Pentecost). The drama of this transition embedded itself deep in the psyche of the Europeans who have recycled it in art, literature and religion. C S Lewis used it to good effect in describing the change on the landscape that came when the frozen winter kingdom of the White Witch thawed into the realm of Aslan.
We even use this imagery in our history – The Dark Ages is the name we give to the period following the collapse of the Western Roman Empire, when the pagan winter engulfed ‘Christian civilisation’. Areas we now know as France, Italy, Spain and Britain were occupied by Franks, Goths, Vandals and Saxons – the names of some of them passing into posterity as those hostile to ‘civilisation’. The so-called Christian empire was overrun, leaving just a few isolated monastic communities to keep the light of faith burning in the sea of darkness. But those communities did not retreat into their bunkers and look inwards; they went out to their hostile neighbours and spread the word of God, often paying with their lives. Men like Boniface, Aidan and Columbanus ensured not merely the survival of Christianity, but its dominance, as pagan Europe turned into Christendom.
A thousand years later, the process was repeated. Christendom, already a decaying empire, fell to the ‘barbarian’ hordes. Humanists, secularists, nihilists and many other tribes overran it, leaving the population confused and vulnerable. By the 20th century many had consigned Christianity to history. It was just another primitive civilisation which had collapsed. Yet the faithful continued to keep the flame burning brightly.
The 21st century is a second missionary era, when the saints once more are called to go to the postmodern ‘barbarians’ and take the message of God to them. People come from across the world to bring us the truth that so many have forgotten. All across Europe missionary endeavour is bringing enlightenment to the lost. Many churches are experiencing significant growth. People are turning to God in numbers not seen for centuries. A new spring is upon us.
