#compassion – An Uncommon Pastor

Easter Sunday

So what is the message today?

It feels like a daunting task to talk about Love while the world is in complete chaos.

I feel that I need to get very practical today. It is time to get practical! It seems to me that we have been ‘interpreting’ Jesus’ death on the cross and resurrection in a rather irresponsible way: Jesus sacrificed himself on the cross for my sins ergo there is nothing I need to do!

In the crucifixion and resurrection story we are taught of the greatest Love-story. Jesus’ Love and devotion to God (the Divine Presence). For me, Jesus’ (only) 3-year-long ministry is a story of compassion, a never ceasing Love for the divine spark of God residing within us all. Yes, even in the ‘evil’ ones.

Today, in the resurrection story, we are reminded and asked to shift our focus from the craze of the world and our troubling emotions back to Love, shown us by Jesus, in the form of compassion.

In order to be able to make that shift, however, we must find the way to look onto everything and everyone through the eyes of Love regardless how that someone/something appears.

I am joining Pope Leo in his request for Peace that, I believe, starts within. As I close my eyes in prayer or meditation today, I hold myself in Loving compassion so my own pain an anguish can dissipate. Then I extend this Loving embrace to humanity. Today, I will think and act with compassion, just Loving it all, regardless.

Lent, 40 Days of Love – Introduction

The Lenten Journey, 40 Days of Letting Go

Release and Reimagine

An Introduction

What is it about?

A few years ago, as I was looking for some material for contemplation during the Christian Season of Lent, I ran into a book called 40 Rules of Love by Elif Shafak CLICK HERE (Read more about the book below). As it happens, I fell in love with the so-called ‘rules of Love’.

Background

At first, I thought that Shams Tabrizi wrote a book – which is very unlikely – and started to look for his ‘rulebook on Love’. Since he was a rather particular 13th century Sufi Mystic known for being the teacher of Rumi, I thought, that he might have left some notes behind which served as a base for the book. Well, nothing like that. The book – 40 Rules of Love – is a fictional story. It is a story on Spiritual Love and the relationship between Shams and Rumi, but most importantly, the book offers 40 so called ‘rules’ on how to live a Spirit-filled Life from a Sufi perspective.

I have also collected some information on Shams’ Life and his impact on Rumi’s Spiritual unfoldment that you can read HERE

As I was reading the book, I fell in love with both the story and the ‘rules. I found them thoughtful and deep. Each one made me think. They reminded me how much we are attached to the phantasy of rom-coms that tell nothing about the Truth of Love. They do not make it real or even believable. But there is a kind of Love that is beyond the warm and fuzzy emotions and fantasies, a Love that Rumi wrote so beautifully about.

Let Love,
the water of life,
flow through our veins.

Let a Love-drunk mirror
steeped in the wine of dawn
translate night.

You who pour the wine,

put the cup of oneness in my hand
and let me drink from it
until I can’t imagine separation.

Love, you are the archer.
My mind is your prey.
Carry my heart
and make my existence your bull’s-eye.

Let love by Jalal al-Din Rumi, 1207 – 1273 – Source

We often spend countless hours trying to find love in another person or in the world but what we fail to see is that the Love we are so desperately searching for is right there within ourselves. It has always been there. We only need to discover it or uncover it, more like.

Personally, I think it is important to find the True meaning behind the word ‘LOVE’, understand it and experience it as a Spiritual Quality inherently within us all.

I am going to walk this 40-day Lenten Journey contemplating on the True meaning of Love, Divine Love, Spiritual Love by experimenting with the 40 rules and quotes from the Lent Booklet. Every day, between

Wednesday 18th of February to Thursday 2nd of April , 2026

I will post a ‘rule’ from the book ’40 rules of Love’ and a release idea from the book ’40 days of Release and Reimagine – Lent 2026′ by Unity.org. – in the form of a short meditation, daily. Then, you can contemplate on it and share about your revelations in the UNITY EUROPE Facebook Group (CLICK HERE).

Let’s walk this journey together!

Join me by …

Previous year’s series

Our Lenten Booklet, an Introduction

Reimagine What Life Can Be

Lent is more than a season of preparation for Easter—it is an invitation to transform ourselves. Easter reminds us of our own Christ nature; Lent calls us to purification beforehand. These weeks provide an opportunity to release thoughts that discourage us, habits that hinder us, and beliefs that keep our lives small.

But once we clear away what has been holding us back, how do we move toward our dreams? What uplifting thoughts or habits can we adopt? We can be anything we can imagine!

We are free to reimagine our lives by envisioning what we truly want, knowing the thoughts we hold have creative power. This year’s theme, Release and Reimagine, invites us to do just that. The weekday messages pair a release with a reimagining, guiding us gently from what we no longer need to what we most desire. The Sunday essays explore different aspects of imagination—one of our divine powers—as the spiritual faculty that shapes our lives.

We hope this booklet supports and strengthens your endeavors in this Lenten season to release what has impeded you and reimagine the infinite possibilities that await you.

Source – unity.org

An in-depth Podcast

A great discussion on Unity and its teaching offered by Rev Kudlik.

In this podcast you will hear about what Unity is and isn’t, What is true sense of happiness, the importance of forgiveness and meditation in practical terms, and about the 5-step process from Bitterness to Wholeness. (the discussion was generated by AI in an amazingly professional manner, except that it assumed that I was a male person 🙂

40 Days of Love – Introduction

40 Days of Letting Go, Letting God

Rebirth and Renewal

An Introduction

What is it about?

As I was looking for some material for contemplation during the Christian Season of Lent a few years ago, I ran into a book called 40 Rules of Love by Elif Shafak CLICK HERE (Read more about the book below). I fell in love with the so-called ‘rules of Love’.

Background

At first, I thought that Shams Tabrizi wrote a book – which is very unlikely – and started to look for his ‘rulebook on Love’. Since he was a rather particular 13th century Sufi Mystic known for being the teacher of Rumi, I thought, that he might have left some notes behind which served as a base for the book. Well, nothing like that. The book – 40 Rules of Love – is a fictional story. It is a story of Love, on Shams and Rumi, but most importantly the book offers 40 so called ‘rules’ on how to live a Spirit-filled Life.

I have collected some information on Shams’ Life and his impact on Rumi’s Spiritual unfoldment that you can read HERE

As I was reading the book, I have fallen in love with both the story and the ‘rules. I found them thoughtful and deep. Each one made me think. They reminded me how much we are attached to the phantasy of rom-coms that tell nothing about the Truth of Love. They do not make it real or even believable. But there is a kind of Love that is beyond the warm and fuzzy emotions and fantasies, a Love that Rumi and Shams wrote so beautifully about.

Personally, I think it is important to find the True meaning behind the word ‘LOVE’, understand it and experience it as a Spiritual Quality inherently within us.

I am going to walk this 40-day Lenten Journey contemplating on the True meaning of Love, Divine Love, Spiritual Love for me by experimenting with the 40 rules and quotes from the Lent Booklet. Every day, between

the 5th of March and the 17th April, 2025

I will post a ‘rule’ from the book ’40 rules of Love’ and an a release idea from the book ’40 days of Rebirth and Renewal – Lent 2025′ by Unity.org. Then, we will contemplate on it and share about it in the UNITY EUROPE Facebook Group (CLICK HERE).

Let’s walk this journey together!

Join me by …

either reading the daily blogposts I create – SEE THEM HERE (CLICK) – or joining the FACEBOOK GROUP (CLICK) where I am going to share my writings and daily contemplative questions. I will also post a short video/audio material on the daily posts. (click on the buttons below to join)

FACEBOOK GROUP

YOUTUBE

ALL POSTS IN THIS SERIES

Last year’s series

Courageous vs daring

This morning I found myself contemplating fear.

Yesterday I found myself talking about a film called Das Leben der Anderen – see the film here CLICK – and the time of my life during the socialistic regime in Hungary. I heard myself ‘blame’ the Russians for overtaking our land and our lives. I found myself enraged again about the atrocities we had to endure.

Then it suddenly occurred to me that it is not only a far, far away past that upsets me but none of it actually exists any more.

Why am I so upset then?

I grew up at a time of terror. We were threatened for our lives at every turn. You had to watch out not to become suspect of any wrong-doing, or you may have been reported to the ‘Stasi’. Every perceived wrong-doing could be punished by imprisonment or death.

I learnt to live with dread. I became neurotic but daring. My response to fear was to challenge those threatening and punishing me. Until one day, I decided that I had had enough and fled.

Except that I took the now innate dread with me. Unknowing, I now held the threatening shadows inside myself. They never ceased to scare me, day and night. So, I continued running trying to flee the shadows.

I daringly conquered all the obstacles and challenges of my life. But I failed to notice that I lacked courage; the courage to face the one ‘enemy’ that generates all the anxiety that has been lurking in my veins.

I have tried it all. I tried to fix it and forgive it. Neither could I let go of the memory of the terror I once lived. It has become part of the vivid tapestry of who I am.

What I must do, however, is face it with courage that stems from my loving embrace. I want to find the compassion within myself that holds me while I look into the eyes of the terror and say ‘I love you, regardless!’

Metaphysical and Compassion

In Unity we look at events and spiritual texts through the lens of metaphysics. Metaphysical interpretation means that we look behind the words and look for the messages, the learning, and the teaching in it.

I always ask, what does this event or sentences mean to me? How can I use it for my upliftment and growth?

I never judge or diminish anything just because I am not familiar with it.

I love looking at the different spiritual and religious celebrations and texts and use them for my daily spiritual practices. I use them to inspire me.

Each celebration gives me an opportunity to learn more about the people and the beliefs. We are all part of the Divine Presence regardless of our beliefs. Understanding others better gives me an opportunity to become a more compassionate human being.