MELBOURNE: 27 July 2010 -- Once again a hiatus of a week in
service. Sorry folks! From time to time I find myself in places where
sending off large batches of emails is simply impossible and that was
the case this week past, amid dozing crocodiles and other pursuits of
an 'outback' kind that do not permit much internet activity. And
whenever there is a gap like this, those who provide the news also take
a break - or so it seems! After all, all I do is tidy up (or ruin) what
you send along. So, time to pull out the pen again, or thump the
keyboard, and get some news items to me from around the Region.
Otherwise the hiatus will continue...
In the meantime, let me offer a personal view
of an interesting phenomenon that has taken place in one part of the
Region, and which happens to involve youth in a big way, surprisingly
so when you hear what it is that is involving them.
My grand nephew is just 8 years old and is already
turning out to be an excellent chef. What has inspired him (apart
from his mother)? A TV Reality Show that came to its grand finale in
Australia on 26 July called Masterchef. That evening, the
one and only TV debate between the two contenders for Australian
political leadership in the forthcoming national elections, had to be
moved to another slot! The nearly 5 million people who watched
Masterchef, close on one quarter of the entire population, preferred
the prime-time 7.30 pm slot for the Masterchef finals, which
were being contested by two relatively youthful male amateurs on this
occasion, Adam a 31 year old lawyer, Australian born, but who had been
living and working in Japan up until he decided to 'have a go' at Masterchef,
and Callum, a 20 year old from just north of Adelaide in South
Australia, who simply likes cooking. At 31, Adam already has a bit of
life behind him. At 20, Callum could have been called 'wet behind the
ears' but not once he put his mind, heart and hands to a 'Guava
snow-egg' dessert. In the end, Adam won, but you could hardly say
Callum lost. He won the sympathy of the nation for his youth,
freshness, delightful positivity about everything, including losing -
and a 'consolation' prize scholarship with one of Australia's top chefs.
Why tell you all this? I had a chance to watch the
finals, the elimination trials for a whole week which whittled the
number down to the two finalists. I saw many a lesson here that could
make us reflect on Youth Ministry probably far more than a dozen
'models' and heavy treatises could ever do. Maybe we need a 'cookbook'
for Youth Ministry!
What attracts 5 million viewers in a population of
22 million, including much of the nation's youth, to watch a cooking
show? We learned something here about the importance of good guidance
and leadership - I am referring to the three judges. They weren't loud,
'in your face'. They were shepherds with an authentic cajoling, warm
style. When someone failed they embraced them and 'sent them home' but
with a list of all they had achieved and a list of alternative steps
for them to pursue their chosen future. Win or lose they lavished
praise. And everything about the competition, judges and competitors,
engaged the community. It was competition with a soft, sometimes
crumbly, edge.
In a volatile and difficult world, Masterchef
showed how common rituals can be redeemed and made beautiful; indeed
how common rituals become a rewarding, unifying activity. Makes you
realise, from a less theological angle, why Jesus chose Eucharist as
his way of holding us together. Masterchef worked, in my view
(or better, it worked for me, over a week, contemplating family and
friends) because it called on and demonstrated real human values in
action like family, honesty, openness, along with constructive
criticism - and it did more for my grand nephew than a dozen homilies
would ever do for an eight year old! If there was a Kinderchef
competition, he might even win it.
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