[After Jesus' resurrection,] when it was already dawn, Jesus was standing on the shore; but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus. Jesus said to them, "Children, have you caught anything to eat?" They answered him, "No." So he said to them, "Cast the net over the right side of the boat and you will find something." So they cast it, and were not able to pull it in because of the number of fish. So the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, "it is the Lord."    

The wonderful world of fantasy can put human thinking into such things as machines, and in particular, trash-compacting machines. During the movie named after him, we come to look at WALL-E (Waste Allocation Load Lifter, Earth-class) as a person, a person with feelings and desires and a life to live. One of his feelings is loneliness, constantly playing the music "Hello Dolly" and in particular a scene from it of "holding hands." He desires most of all some type of friendship, the feeling that only another person can satisfy. WALL-E's "friend" the cockroach is only a pet and therefore cannot "think" the way WALL-E can. He desires something more. It finally comes in a probe that is sent--an extraterrestrial vegetation evaluator, or EVE, also a machine, but one who has human thought as well. As EVE and WALL-E discover friendship, valuable lessons are given to our world today, a world that is also in need discovering what it means to have and be a friend.   

One of the most interesting parts of the Gospel of John to study is the friendship between Jesus and “the one whom Jesus loved.” The apostle seems to always know what Jesus is all about. We do not know the person that the phrase describes, although some have concluded that it was John the apostle. Whoever the person was, there was a special friendship that Jesus had for him, and vice-versa. Jesus was totally human, even as he was totally divine, and human people will always have special friends who are close to them. It is indeed fitting then that Jesus had a true friend. 

In friendship, friends will always want to help one another. In fact, it may be that friends must help one another. It is something that is “understood” from the nature of friendship. As WALL-E and EVE interact, they gradually see that they must help each other in order to survive. What begins with WALL-E trying to overcome his loneliness ends with a true friendship between WALL-E and EVE that will not tolerate any separation.

As the Christian thinks of the concept of friendship, he/she must focus on two areas, the one general, the other particular. In general, do we as followers of Jesus Christ think of everyone, no matter who they are, as people with whom we must be at least friendly? And in particular, with those whom we are close to, are we true friends—helping them, maintaining confidences, and remaining faithful even in the midst of difficulty and conflict?

In general, the human being is not meant to be alone. Everyone of us must reach out to some friend who will help us grow, and everyone of us should be a true friend to others.         

Questions, comments? Let me know. Email Fr. Mike

©2007 Capuchin Province of Mid-America
Fr. Mike Scully is a member of the Capuchin Province of Mid-America