One of the things we like about driving through the southern Swedish countryside is the sight of an old parish church tower rising above the trees and farms every 20 miles or so.  Scattered about Sweden, these churches have served for centuries as the center of communal life in every parish, both spiritual and civil.  Our Swedish ancestors worshiped in these churches, and were buried in their churchyards.  Upon close inspection they seem almost fortress-like, and in fact the oldest churches doubled as shelters in times of war.  Some of the older churches have separate bell towers which also served as a place to store weapons. Here in southern Sweden war was all too common as the land belonged alternately to Denmark and Sweden and the political powers sought for control.  The common people were caught in the middle.  As the borders changes the locals on either side of the new border became “enemies”.  But they established what is called “bondefred”, or farmer peace, that allowed them to continue to trade across the political border without rancor or trouble.  One had to eat.

One of the loveliest churches we have visited is in the little town of Ronneby, west of Karlskrona.  This town has seen it’s share of trouble over the years.  The church, with thick stone and brick walls dates back to the 12^th century.  The interior is decorated with frescoes which are basically picture sermons.

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Here is a ceiling image with several Biblical references and illustrations.  I like the little devil at the bottom doing his darndest to torment with his pet snake biting the man’s knee, and all the other temptations, of the flesh, and wealth and such, tugging on him.  I don’t know how many of the church goers were literate, and until the invention of the printing press it is unlikely that any of them living in the middle ages had access to a Bible, so going to church each Sunday and looking at the walls and ceilings was the only option available for scriptural literacy. 

And this is my favorite:

At the bottom you see a medieval soldier dressed in armor, the illustration of Paul’s passage in Ephesians 6 where he states that we must be strong in the Lord and take upon us the whole armor of God: our loins girt with truth [sandheds belte], the breastplate of righteousness, our feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace, the shield of faith [troenes skiöld],  the helmet of salvation [saligheds helm], and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God [Guds ord].  The labels are written in very old Swedish/Danish, as Ronneby belonged to Denmark for much of its history.  In fact, here is a picture of the ornate altar piece:

If you could zoom in and see at the very top, you would see a tiny Danish flag.

But perhaps the most moving of the frescoes are of people dancing with skeletons:

The images are fading but the message is clear.  Life is short and death will surely come to one and all.  This church had seen great tragedy over many, many years.  The plague certainly took its toll, and in the late 1500’s war was a severe threat.  During the Swedish invasion of the then Danish province of Blekinge, the soldiers in the far back of the marching Swedish army were taken captive by the locals and hanged from the trees in the country side. In retaliation, King Eric XIV of Sweden gave the order that all lands between Lyckeby and Ronneby were free to pillage, killing and burning by the army.

On 3 September 1564, the Swedish army reached the city of Ronneby, which was at that point a flourishing and wealthy merchant city. The city lacked proper defense fortifications or a garrison, but likely expected to be given assistance from the Danish troops, which were positioned some miles away. The city refused to surrender to the Swedes despite been given two opportunities to do so. When the Swedish army stormed the city early on the morning of 4 September, they quickly pulled down the temporary palisade which was its only defense and, with no soldiers defending it, pillaged the city and massacred its inhabitants in accordance with the order of scorched earth issued by Eric XIV.

A great fortune was taken as war price including silver and gold, household goods, wine and salt and many more goods stored by the city merchants, and much of the city was burned down during the pillage. 
But the church survived the fire. 

In an alcove is preserve an old church door preserved from this episode of over 450 years ago. It shows the ax marks of the attackers on its surface.

Reflecting on this tragedy, I am reminded again of man’s inhumanity to man.  Will war and terrorism never cease?  When will the hearts of men learn to live the principles of the Master, and live the gospel of Peace?  We may not see peace on earth in our lifetime, but we can have peace in our hearts.  Personal tragedy does not need to crush us. 

There is still much good in the world, and much good to do.  Lifting and helping and easing the pain and suffering of others, encouraging and strengthening and succoring those who need our succor, as the Savior would do, individual by individual – that is my faith.