Judas had Silver. We have AI.

Friend.

While he was still speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, arrived, accompanied by a large crowd, with swords and clubs, who had come from the chief priests and the elders of the people. His betrayer had arranged a sign with them, saying, "The man I shall kiss is the one; arrest him." Immediately he went over to Jesus and said, "Hail, Rabbi!" and he kissed him. Jesus answered him, "Friend, do what you have come for."

Matthew 26:47-50

Today is Palm Sunday, and I have spent much of this week reflecting on this encounter between Jesus and Judas. What has stayed with me most is that single word: friend.

Jesus chose Judas just like the others. He truly was his friend. Many commentators, drawing on the Gospel accounts and ancient dining customs, note that Judas was not just given a seat at the table, but the place of honor next to Jesus -- close enough to receive the dipped bread from his hand. On one side of Jesus is John. On the other side is Judas.

It seems clear that Jesus was holding out until the end, knowing that his friend was struggling. Even in those last moments, when love was being used as a weapon, Jesus was still giving his friend an opportunity for redemption.

The line through us

"Sin is not a thing we can locate 'out there.' It runs through us, cutting through every human heart."

Fleming Rutledge, The Crucifixion

The line between good and evil does not just divide people: bad people, bad. good people, good.

Instead, good and evil split us as individuals. It runs through each of our hearts. And when we tip the scale, we convince ourselves that darkness is light and evil is good. We fill our minds and our days with tools that reinforce our self-deceptions.

This division is not abstract. We experience it constantly. We justify what we want to do. We rename and bend things. We surround ourselves with people and tools that reflect those distortions back to us.

Feeding on Pods

This is where I grow very weary of AI. It is very good at amplifying whatever we feed it. And if we feed it bad things, if we feed it our weakness, our insecurities, and the empty God-shaped holes in our hearts, it gets filled with everthing we loathe. It quickly becomes the thirty pieces of silver that cannot be given back.

However, like Judas, there is a line that runs through it. The same tools that can reinforce self-deception can also be used for real good.

Go, you are sent!

As a software engineer for almost 30 years, the past year -- no, the last six months! -- has completely and irrevocably changed how I do my job. Unsurprisingly to my friends, I keep a list of business ideas, many of them for the Church. Six months ago these ideas were not just difficult, they were flat out impossible. (Believe me, I tried.)

For years, I have prayed for the opportunity to build things that might serve the Church in even a small way, helping parishes live out what we hear at the end of every Mass: "Ite, missa est."

The difference is the heart

The same tool can serve truth or illusion. The difference is not in the tool. It is in the heart that uses it. My plan is to bring you, my faithful reader, along with me as I build something new, and to do so with honesty and humility.

I pray that this Holy Week will bring us both deeper into the heart of Christ.

Love,