In Three Dimensions

This reflection is part of the Lent Incarnate: And You Shall Live Incarnational Study. If you would like to see the whole liturgy, please click here.

By Andrea Lingle

There is a lake on the high desert plateau of Oregon which flows from a spring into the bowl of a dead volcano. I have been fortunate enough stand up paddle this lake twice, and, as I stood on the surface of the impossibly clear water with only four inches of paddle board mediating the border between the water and the sky, I was engulfed by a sense of being in.

Being in the world. Being in the sky. Being a part of the world.

Now, I know that I exist other places, but, there, floating on the surface of the water, I felt in it.

Throughout this study, we will be exploring the question of Salvation. Spiritual seekers use this word extensively, but what do we mean by salvation? What are we being saved from? What are we being saved for? What are we being saved by?

I think I brushed the edge of it while floating on the surface of Hosmer Lake. As I stood pinioned between the infinity of the sky and the profundity of the depths, I could sense the edge of Truth. Dr. Martin Luther King used the analogy of three dimensional living when speaking about living a complete life. As earth bound creatures, we have a tendency to live flat, unaware of the depths below us and the infinity above. The concrete, asphalt, and unattainable heights reinforce our illusion. This is all there is. Just me, trapped in a present dictated by the decisions of the past. There is plenty of evidence of the brutality of the world. It seems like we are met by violence every where. The violence of being reduced to a soundbite, productivity unit, or object. The violence of being used to living in a web of metal detectors. The violence of scarcity. We certainly do not have to use very much imagination to think of the world as being in need of salvation.

But what if we leave the surface? What if we plunge into the water? Let’s find out.