Maundy Thursday marks the final countdown to Jesus’ last days on earth--his arrest, his crucifixion and ultimately, his resurrection. It is usually not the most joyous of feasts. Even the word “Maundy,” which comes from the Latin word for “commandment,” sounds gloomy. It sounds like a word Eeyore would say a lot. Are you familiar with Eeyore, the pessimistic donkey from the Winnie the Pooh books?  Can’t you picture Eeyore saying, “Maundy, maundy” in his gloomiest voice? And then he’d sigh and shake his head.

The Lord’s Supper is a reverent event, but it should never be a gloomy event. In fact, in the early church the celebration would get a bit too festive.

I read recently about a church that was celebrating Communion. During the “children’s sermon” the minister was talking about Communi…