Throughout this period though, whenever Christianity looked to be on the decline, missionaries were sent, often into very inhospitable environments, to keep the flame alive.
In the ninth century the invaders were the Danes - the infamous Vikings. Alfred had wanted to go into Holy Orders but found himself a king after several deaths in his family. He was a skilled tactician and not only repelled the Viking attack in Southern England but convinced them to accept missionaries.
When we look at our world we often lament about change - but change is nothing new. Alfred lamented about the state of education and the lack of scholars, he reformed the clergy and recovered lands lost.
I am always fascinated that, whilst the world was such a different, and infinitely more dangerous, place a little over a thousand years ago, that in many core ways life was the same. Questions about God and humanity and living the way we should have always been asked. The necessity of duty came to Alfred early as he took a throne he did not want and yet into that role he brought those things which he had thought would be for the cloister - devotion, discipline and an enquiring mind.
Whenever we are tempted to look back and hold on too tightly to our own piece of history, perhaps we need to look at the bigger story with a more universal eye. The history of Alfred and those like him, is our heritage. What does that say about how to handle our Gospel mandate to share the news of Jesus Christ. What can we learn from a king who lived more than a thousand years ago?
The windows onto our own humanity which are opened through the lives of those who have gone before are quite wonderful and offer us an experience which remaining in our familiarity might not allow.
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