There is an anecdote about how the design of the cross can help us remember the basics of our Christian faith. The beam going up and down connects us on earth with our God in heaven. It reminds us that we are to love God with all of our heart, soul, strength and mind. The crossbeam connects all of God's people who exist on earth. It reminds us that we are to love our neighbor as we love ourselves.
      One of my college friends, Kathryn, grew up about an hour away from school. So, when we needed a good homecooked meal or just some time off campus, we would head to her parents' home for the weekend to get a little TLC. Kathryn's dad was a pastor, so Sunday morning always included going to church when we visited and I'll never forget the first time I saw the cross in that sanctuary. I didn't like it at first. It seemed off kilter and maybe like it was hung sideways. You see, the crossbeam was longer than the beam going up and down.
      I'd never seen a cross displayed that way before. It was only when Kathryn explained the meaning of it that I got it and then learned to love it. She talked about how the long crossbeam emphasized that we are to love and care for our neighbor. She spoke of how it, on a weekly basis, reminded that congregation that their job as Christian people wasn't done just because they sat in church for an hour each week. Instead, it was just beginning as they were sent into the world to love and live with and among all of God's people on earth.
      The question this cross begs us to ask is this: What does it take to love our neighbor? The answer to this question could create an endless list. The Deuteronomy and Luke passages we heard today help us at least get a starting list together. In Deuteronomy, Moses is talking to the Israelites about God's commandments and decrees. He is referring, in part, to the Ten Commandments.
     Whenever I teach the Ten Commandments to confirmation kids, we talk about how all 10 boil down to just two. The first three are about loving God. We're going to focus on that next week. The last seven are about loving our neighbor. Honor you father and mother. Don't kill. Don't commit adultery. Don't steal. Don't lie. Don't covet your neighbor's things. These all have to do with how we live together here on earth. God has given us these commandments not to stifle us, not to bind us with rules, but to help us know how to show love to our neighbor.
     The Gospel story from Luke, helps us continue our list of what it takes to love our neighbor. The first thing we learn is that loving our neighbor includes crossing boundaries. In the first century, Jews and Samaritans would not have associated. In fact, they did everything in their power to avoid each other - sometimes walking miles out of the way to avoid walking on each other's territory.
     This story, with the priest and Levite passing by on the other side and the Samaritan man stopping to help is the exact opposite of the conventional practices of that day. Jesus used it to teach the lawyer who was questioning him and us that loving our neighbor means crossing boundaries and not only that but shattering them and leaving them in the past. We still haven't mastered this in our society today where we allow so many things to keep us from showing love to each other - everything from race, religion and politics to gender, sexual orientation and economic brackets. Still, there are times when we get it.
     Just last week, we, as a congregation had the opportunity to love our neighbor. When a woman was struck by a car in that intersection, those who could help went to do so and we who could pray stayed here and did that. Our attitude wasn't, "It's no one we know." or, "They're Presbyterian so we don't need to help." No. All we knew was that someone had been hurt and that we must do everything we can to help. And we did help.
     The next thing we learn about loving our neighbor is that it requires mercy. It requires compassion. Compassion literally means to "suffer with". Author, Frederick Beuchner speaks of it this way, "Compassion is sometimes the fatal capacity for feeling what it is like to live inside somebody else's skin. It is the knowledge that there can never really be any peace and joy for me until there is peace and joy finally for you too." Loving our neighbor requires mercy, compassion and an acted out sense that we are in this life together. It requires a sense of selflessness. You'll notice that the Samaritan man in the story didn't necessarily gain anything by his actions. There are no rewards or accolades given him, aside from the simple satisfaction of helping his neighbor.
     The final thing I want to add to our list of what it takes to love our neighbor is a sense of collaboration. Just like the Samaritan man enlisted the innkeeper to help him care for the half dead man he found on the road, we enlist each other to help us show love as well. We can do a little by ourselves. We can do more with two and even more with a whole group. Take Vacation Bible School as an example. It starts on July 31st and we will be using this ministry to share God's love and show our love to the kids of our church and the kids of this neighborhood. What we are going to do together, none of us could do alone.
     The collaborative effort of so many leaders is what allows for great loving potential for this ministry. Many of you are on board and there is room for more help. Getting the word out and registrations turned in is the focus for the next two weeks. Do you have a child, grandchild or neighbor between age 4 and 6th grade? If so, please take a flier to them and invite them. Would you be willing to sit at a table at an upcoming community event and pass out fliers to families? If so, please talk to me. How about heading down to the park with me this Tuesday or Wednesday morning to pass out water and fliers there? Again, please speak with me if you're interested.
      I want to close with that image of the cross in my friend, Kathryn's home church. The act of loving our neighbor puts a lot on us. Sometimes, it can even seem like a bit of a burden. The thing to remember is that we can only do it because of what Jesus did on that cross for us. It is His arms outstretched wide and long - wide enough to encompass the whole world, long enough to touch even those who thought they were beyond God's love - that allow us to stretch out our arms in love towards our neighbor. God bless us and be with us all as we move out in order to show love to our neighbor - breaking down barriers, enacting compassion and collaborating with one another.
      Amen.