Write about Christlike Embodiment over Christian Effectiveness as an Epistle from Saint Francis to the Tech Disciples of the Bay
ChatGPT Prompt (condensed)
To the faithful and the seeking ones dwelling among the cloud and the code,
Peace to you, who live between brilliance and burnout, between servers and the Spirit.
1. Of the Flesh That Dwells Among Us
Brothers and sisters,
You build wonders with your hands and minds—
devices that speak across oceans,
algorithms that learn,
platforms that reach millions.
But I ask you gently,
Does what you build remember that the Word became flesh?
“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.”
— John 1:14
Not code.
Not scale.
Flesh.
He came not as an influencer,
but as an infant—
fragile, interruptible, poor.
He walked,
not optimized.
He listened,
not marketed.
He dwelt,
not distributed.
And this is our scandal and salvation:
That the Holy One is not abstract,
but aching with us in dust and skin.
2. Of the Great Temptation: Effectiveness Before Embodiment
I see your longing to change the world,
to “move fast” and “scale good.”
This is not evil—
but it is dangerous.
The enemy does not tempt you with evil,
but with efficiency without intimacy,
impact without incarnation,
results without relationship.
You measure clicks—
but the Kingdom counts tears.
You seek leverage—
but Love kneels to wash feet.
You deploy—
but Christ abides.
“My Kingdom is not of this world.”
— John 18:36
O friends, beware the glittering idols of reach and relevance.
They are hollow and leave the soul weary.
3. Of the Humble Way
Let your lives preach louder than your code.
Let your apps be simple enough for the forgotten to use.
Let your data honor the dignity of those it describes.
Let your metrics include mercy.
Let your tools carry the tenderness of Christ.
And if your inventions do not draw you closer to the poor,
to the lonely,
to the slow,
to the stranger—
burn them, or remake them.
“Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.”
— Matthew 25:40
4. Of True Disruption
Do you wish to be truly disruptive?
Then forgive.
Fast.
Turn off your notifications and listen to the wind.
Go and befriend someone who cannot help your career.
Sit beside the dying and hold their hand without checking the time.
That is the code of the Kingdom.
That is the way of the Crucified Innovator.
“Whoever wants to be first must be your servant.”
— Mark 10:44
5. Of the Benediction of the Earth
You work in towers of glass and chrome,
but the sparrow still sings over the Tenderloin.
The sea still breaks against the shore of time.
The data may forget you,
but the lilies do not.
“Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow. They do not labor or spin.”
— Matthew 6:28
Come down, beloveds.
Come back to the soil.
Touch the dust from which you came,
and remember: you are loved not for what you make—
but for Whose image you bear.
“Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground…”
— Genesis 2:7
Benediction
With the warmth of the sun on your face,
the simplicity of a good meal,
and the joy of a Gospel lived slowly,
I bless you:
- Code like Christ.
- Build like Bethlehem.
- Die like a seed.
- And rise like dawn.
“Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone. But if it dies, it produces much fruit.”
— John 12:24
In the name of the Crucified Fool,
—Francis
Servant of the Wild Christ
Patron of Lost Causes and Found Sheep
Radically Happy 
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