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Good morning.

Tomorrow marks the 63rd anniversary of the first ascent of the world’s highest peak – Mount Everest by Edmund Hilary and Tensing Norgay.  Literally thousands of people have reached the summit since then and, as recent fatalities have sadly shown, the climb has never become any easier – or less dangerous.  But the magic of that first success was – and remains unique. 

In a world where a lot of what would have seemed miraculous to my generation is pretty much taken for granted, it’s difficult truly to convey the sheer wonder that we felt then for what had been achieved.  Hilary and Tensing were – in my eyes and those of my contemporaries – wonderfully heroic figures. 

And I believe Humanity needs heroes.  We need people who push at the boundaries of what we can be or aspire to become; because people like that can stimulate every one of us to, maybe, look again at what we think we are capable of.  Not many of us will climb unconquered mountains but if somebody else shows that it can be done, then in a sense they have rewritten the rules for the rest of us.  And maybe that can encourage us to look at the issues we face in our own lives and perhaps find them less daunting

And for me there are clear parallels here with the Christian faith.  If Jesus had simply come to reveal God to us – that would have been wonderful.  But He came to show us something else as well. He came to show us that there was a better way for us to be human.  It can be costly – like climbing mountains, the authentic Christian life, of love and self sacrifice is hard and can be dangerous.  But Jesus showed us that it was possible and by His example challenges us all to look again at what we think we are capable of.

Father, we thank you for people who push the boundaries of our world and by their achievements expand our understanding of what’s possible.  Give us all their courage to confront the challenges in our own lives.  Amen