Reflection for the Feast of Bl. Jean Martin Moye: “Do you love me? Follow me.”

In our Gospel Reading from John, it seems like the disciples have finally gotten out of the locked room and back to normal, which is good. Especially after the trauma of the crucifixion and the joy but uncertainty of the resurrection, doing something normal probably feels good. Going fishing is a thing they used to do before their life of discipleship, and so they do this ordinary thing.

However, their lives are not the same as they used to be before they knew Jesus, and this ordinary thing soon becomes extraordinary. They have breakfast with Christ after finally recognizing him, and that probably feels like old times too. And yet, it’s not like old times because everything is different. No matter how much they might want to be in the familiar and comfortable, that’s just not where their lives are headed. The passage ends with a kind of sending forth. Christ asks Peter three times if he loves him, calls him to service, and then tells him, “Follow me.”

Peter and the other disciples do continue to follow Christ, and they step into the leadership of this community. We know the stories of those early days. The community keeps growing with seeming ease, and Peter appears to be confident, and that confidence gives the impression of competence. However, it’s Peter. He’s all passion, all impulse, and not much discernment. He’s a very unfiltered guy, even in this passage when he throws on clothes and jumps into the water to swim to shore. Who does that? So, we have no reason to assume he knows what he’s doing.

The reality is that Peter and the other disciples probably have no idea what they’re doing. They know they love Jesus, though, and since he was raised from the dead, they’re growing in awareness of who he is as the risen Christ. They still follow him, but now Peter will have to have to discern and listen and move forward as a disciple and a leader in whatever ways God calls him, even in a time of great uncertainty. He will need to become confident in God rather than himself. And, he does.

And here we are, celebrating the Feast of Fr. Moye. For some reason, it’s easy for me to think that he and our first sisters, our predecessors in Providence, knew what they were doing too. We know the stories of the early days, right? And as we’ve told them overtime and read the writings of Father Moye, we know what’s going to happen. But they didn’t know what would happen. In some ways, I think Jean Martin was not unlike Peter. His discernment was probably better, but, as he tried to follow the designs of providence, he could seem to be impulsive too. None of his decisions were ever set in stone because he always wanted to follow the movement of the spirit rather than a solid plan. He also seemed confident, and I’m not sure if he was confident in himself or not, but he was certainly confident in God’s Providence, which he allowed to guide him through everything.

And I can’t think about Father Moye without also thinking of the women he called to set out on this journey of Providence, those young women he sent out into the country alone to serve the poor. When we tell the stories of the early days, it sounds so wonderful, but those young women had no idea what they were walking into, and if I really stop to think about it, it’s astonishing that they said yes to that. Astonishing. And they did it not thinking of what would happen next. They weren’t intending to start a movement or a congregation; they were simply serving the people in front of them. They followed God‘s call freely and unencumbered by expectations or history or property or structure or institution. They just moved out in service, holding onto their trust in God. And God provided.

And maybe God is offering us a helpful invitation to stop and ponder all of these first people in our faith, our foundational leaders who began what is now our legacy, those who set our charism, our life, into motion. They did not set out to set our lives into motion. They simply followed the call of God in front of them and God grew the movement.

In that way, maybe they were free in a different way than we are now as Sisters and Associates. We have a lot of establishment, and I personally like our establishment. I like us. Establishment can feel comfortable, though, and I’m not sure that our lives as people of Providence are meant to be comfortable. Yes, we draw near each other and do the things that bring us joy, like praying together today, or like Peter and the disciples and their post-resurrection fishing expedition. It is good for us to be together and pray together. However, we can’t stay on the shore, eating grilled fish, when God is still calling us to venture out.

Now, at this point, probably none of us is going to pack a lunch and just wander off into the country to see what happens, like our first sisters did. It’s just not feasible. And that’s not our call now. Our call is to continue to read the signs of the times and notice the needs of the world, and to respond with the tender love and care of our provident God, whom we know and experience and desire to share with other people. So, it may not be some grand gesture, like setting off to the country. Mostly God doesn’t call people to grand gestures. But God does call us to love even when it’s uncomfortable.

So, then, how are we living into the discomfort of God’s call? Are there personal risks we can take, can we reach out? Can we learn about something or someone that moves us away from what is familiar and comfortable and into something new? Can we challenge or disrupt injustice, even in some small way? Can we reach out to someone who is often not included or at least can we hold them in love in prayer, so that even the forgotten are being thought about, cared about?

Even as times are uncertain and institutions are being deconstructed and challenged, and we don’t know what’s going to happen, God has called us into Mission, each of us. And no matter where we are in life or ministry, God is still calling. God is still saying to each one of us every day:

Do you love me? Feed my lambs.

Do you love me? Tend my sheep.

Do you love me? Feed my sheep.

Follow me.

How are you answering that call with your life?

If you would like to hear an audio version of the reflection, click here: https://www.godspacecommunity.com/providencepodcast/2025/5/1/do-you-love-me-follow-me-providence-podcast-episode (It’s not exactly the same, but it’s close.) Listen and subscribe to the Providence Podcast on Apple Podcast, Spotify, YouTube, and wherever you get podcasts!

By Sister Leslie Keener, CDP

Sister Leslie Keener, CDP is the director of God Space, a community-building spirituality ministry in Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky. She’s a Sister of Divine Providence with a Masters in Ministry and a Certificate in Spiritual Direction and Retreats from Creighton University. She directs retreats, meets with people for spiritual direction, and serves as the vocation director for her community. She enjoys music, dancing, the joy of the resurrection, and Easter candy.