Response to Mark's story

The SMH reported that on May 15 2006, a 47 year old Kiwi named Mark Inglis became the first double amputee to climb Mount Everest. Equipped with carbon-fibre prosthetics, a lifelong passion for climbing and a support group of 20 people, Inglis conquered the 8 850 metre peak. The initial reports had nothing but praise for his achievement. They added that the expedition is expected to raise several hundred thousand dollars for a Cambodian centre that provides rehabilitation for landmine amputees, polio victims and other disabled people.

More recently, however, the press releases have been soured with the revelation that Inglis passed a dying British climber on his way to the top. 34 year old David Sharp had apparently run out of oxygen and was huddling in a cave some 300 metres below the summit.

Mark Inglis and his group claimed that they tried to help Sharp but that there was nothing they could do. He and about 40 other climbers who were on their way to the top of Everest simply kept going, leaving Sharp to die.

This tragic event reminds me of a story Jesus told about some people on the road to Jericho who did nothing wrong. But they didn't stop to help a dying man.

And I wonder if there have been times when I've unknowingly done exactly the same thing.

Yesterday I passed another person bent down, searching through the rubbish as I went to worship with my friends. I hardly noticed him. His presence didn't even fully register with me until I was talking about doing right and stopping for the dying when his crouched form flashed through my mind.
There were certainly no guarantees that Inglis or his party would have been able to save Sharp's life. They would have been putting themselves at risk in doing so. But it makes me question what is it with the climbing community that makes it OK to simply pass by a dying man? Why would 40 out of 40 people make that same decision, each with their various ways of rationalizing their decision?

Are there times when I, too, am so inculturated into the mindset of particular subcultures that I become blind to what is just, right and merciful?

Inglis achieved his goal which could be described as ambitious, if not seemingly impossible. Yet he missed the opportunity to possibly save someone's life.

Are there times when we are so focused on our goals that we miss out on the important things? Are we blind to people's needs because we think of nothing else but getting to the top?

I noticed at my friend's place yesterday that they had stocked up on milk. There was a pile of about 20 UHT boxes on their kitchen table. This is the way they have chosen to respond to people who beg. This is one practical way they can stop.

Likewise, in many various ways, little, local ways... may our eyes be opened so that we do more than simply pass by.