In the Torah, the five books traditionally attributed to Moses, there are 613 unique and distinct commandments given by God through Moses to the people. These 613 original rules for Jews are summarized in Ten Commandments given to Moses. And according to Jesus, the Ten Commandments can be summed up and pared down to two great commandments: love of God, love of neighbor. They are like two giant oak trees from a common root, since we really cannot love God and despise another human being. It all comes down to two trajectories of love – one pointed vertically to God in the heavens and the other pointed horizontally to humanity, toward our neighbor. They meet in the form of a cross, a cross where two beams of love once held up a single selfless life, a life poured out for love for God our Father and love for the whole world. And that is why we make the sign of the cross when we pray. It is why a crucifix is displayed so prominently in our houses of worship. We are a people marked and redeemed by our choice to observe two intertwined commandments, and by the twin beams of love that cross in Jesus.