Don't forget me.

One of my friends calls today "Monday-Thursday" because when we were in high school, she misheard me when I said I was walking down to church for communion because it was Maundy Thursday. Maundy Thursday is my most favorite day on the liturgical calendar. If you can call the day that commemorates Jesus' last full day on earth a "favorite," that is. It's on this day that the Last Supper is said to have occurred.

The story told is of a man named Jesus who is aware that he will soon be executed -- he's become too inconvenient for the Roman Empire to keep around (contrary to popular belief, the Romans killed Jesus, not the Jews).

The storytellers share a touching detail of a man, who knows he's got limited time. And in that time, Jesus does what a lot of would do -- He leaves a legacy. In the act of sharing bread and wine, a ritual is created that does nothing less than immortalize this man called Jesus. Jesus says, "Don't forget me." And we haven't. Whether a practicing Christian or one who holds a different set of beliefs, in this culture, most have at least heard of Jesus and many are at least somewhat familiar with the notion of bread and wine symbolizing (or even being) the flesh and blood of Jesus the Christ.

None of us wants to be forgotten and none of us wants the memory of someone we love to fade away. We look for ways to leave a trace of the person who has died and gone to "God knows where." We leave grave markers, memorial plaques, gather in small or large groups to share memories. We leave autobiographies, photos, art. Our personality traits -- both good and bad -- are passed along from generation to generation. Glasses are raised, toasts are made. Bread is broken the chalice of wine is shared. We remember.

Maundy, a word that comes from the Latin mandatum, or mandate/commandment, expands the message of not forgetting an individual. Jesus' mandate to those who choose to listen: A new commandment I give unto you, that you love one another as I have loved you. That's one heck of a legacy, if you ask me. One to remember for the ages.