Hell Vomit - How to Party Like a Rock Star when His Hour Has Come

Opening Parenthetical to Explain the Title - (Christ is the Rock. He's the morning Star. He parties at the Last Supper. Hell Could Not Contain Him after Consuming Him at the Grave when His Hour Comes) - 

And now to the blog and partying like Jesus.........

My son Caleb puked for the first time in his life this week.  Sarah was out of the minivan (actually at Reid’s house I think) when she looked back and saw Kyle diving out of the side slider door and running from the Honda Odyssey like a grenade pin had been pulled and it was gonna blow. 

I would pay money to get the slow motion action hero type footage of Kyle rolling/diving onto the sidewalk to get away from Caleb’s heaving.  Oh my…..

Cup holders in the front of Sarah’s minvan were filled with aftermath.  Her cell phone, Caleb’s back 

pack, stereo equipment, socks, shoes, (I know this because I hosed them out with Sarah later J) were coated/smothered by his tidal unswallowing.

A day later Caleb and I were hanging out in the kitchen and he looked at me and said, “Can I tell you something?  At first when I threw up I thought apple sauce was coming out of my mouth.”

As I listened to Caleb I became amazed at Caleb’s perspective.  Caleb was so mystified at this new experience in life that his processing/synthesis of what occurred had very little (if any) qualitative assessment of what happened.  His recollection didn’t invoke self- centered obsession on pain, discomfort, or nastiness.  All of those sensations were present but they were so secondary to the mystery and intrigue of this new biological moment in his journey that he paid no heed to them.   The pain, discomfort and nastiness were inconsequential for they were drowned out by a much more supreme consequential event -- his body being invaded by a new reality which for Caleb could not be explained by any previous experience or facts.

Caleb’s upheaval in the minivan for me serves as a metaphor for Listening to Jesus in many ways.

The introduction and conclusion of the sermon focused on our balance, perspective, equilibrium, “still point in the midst of a whirling world” being found in centering on God as our refuge and strength. 

As Sarah and I worked together as a makeshift haz-mat crew to de-biohazard her van, our love for Caleb which finds its root in the love and glory of our heavenly Father provided safe harbor from this little nasty tempest that comes from time to time in family life.  As we kind of bathed ourselves a little bit in stomach contents, did we feel disoriented? Overwhelmed? Afraid? (those are words from the sermon)  – definitely!! But the bigger story – compassion, kindness, empathy, acceptance of what God put in our path, embracing that God must be cracking up at us, his kids, trying to sort this thing out, brought a “still point in the midst of a whirling world.”

In the same way, Caleb didn’t stress about his circumstances.  He was so taken with fascination of this strange experience that the suffering he endured paled in comparison.   Caleb’s experience came to mind as I heard Darrel explain that Christ’s revelation of God’s glory goes with the moment He is seized by violent men in the valley of the shadow of death.  Hebrews says that for the joy set before Him Christ endured the cross.  Christ is so defined and focused by the character and heart of God and His Kingdom Come that the pain, discomfort, and shame he endured pales in comparison with His fascination and joy at being a revelation of God’s glory.

Caleb for me did what Darrel calls us to do.  As an innocent child of God, he entered a valley of physical suffering and nastiness (that lasted for hours – he puked more later J) but had little concern or worry over the circumstances.  Instead of stressing, Caleb walked his path with a focus on being open to embrace and even marvel at the wonder of taking some new unpleasant & painful steps in His journey.

Later, Caleb’s stomach revolted again at the dinner table that night.  Just seconds after returning from the upheaval, he came back and sat down at his grilled cheese sandwich. He immediately grabbed the sandwich and plunged it into his mouth.  His mom and I both protested.  Caleb protested back and argued with us.  I loved his point.  “Look guys.  Isn’t it obvious…… I’m hungry.”  In other words, “mom and dad, if I keep emptying the contents of my stomach, you should both know, I’m gonna need some food to fill it up.”

I love when Christ tells us not to worry for each day has enough trouble of its own.  This truth was so at the heart of Caleb at our dinner table.  Without any concern over future stomach wrath, he pounded that sandwich.  I’ve always felt that this attitude is the heart of Christ and certainly the heart of Christ at the last supper.  With the entire weight of the cosmos and the upheaval of the principalities and powers through hell and death vomiting his bloodied, obliterated body and ravaged heart from the realm of the dead, Jesus, according to the gospels, was as passionate as he could possibly be to pound bread and wine with His friends at the last supper.  With the nausea and icks of crucifixion, sin, and demonic oppression at the highest level, he has the light hearted wisdom to not worry about tomorrow but instead to embrace His moment of celebration with the disciples with fat, passionate slug of faith, hope and love. 

Caleb reminds me that Christ’s freedom gives us the power and wisdom to dance with joy in the midst of suffering.

Darrel’s sermon pushes me to understand that suffering provides a unique moment where we with perhaps a deeper power and wisdom (because of the suffering) do whatever needs to be done to manifest the Father’s glory in me and through me.