The first time I met Tom Stegman, he was working. Sleeves literally rolled up, Bible in hand, teaching—intelligence, humor, clarity, charisma. Here was someone being himself. Being himself for others. There are moments in our lives that we remember with crystal clearness. This is one of my moments.
My friendship with Tom began that day, and our several years of collaboration began some years later. It was during those years that I came to an even deeper understanding of the work Tom did, the wholeheartedness with which he did it, and the way the work occupied so much of his mind. He loved people. He loved sports. He loved the STM, his Jesuit community, his family, students, colleagues, the priesthood. But he also really loved to work.
Some people are workaholics. They work to escape other things. They work to avoid. This was not Tom. For Tom, work was life—it was the joy of life, the proclamation of the gospel, a privilege and a vocation. The thousands of hours of his life that he poured into books and articles, lectures and retreats, administration and preaching—we see what the work amounted to in his sixty years with us. Hours upon hours of sharing his knowledge, his ideas, his encouragement. The legacy is not only what is in print, but what is in our minds and hearts.
Things changed dramatically for Tom in the last year of his life. But he never stopped working, not until he simply could not do it anymore. As his friend and his editor, I always told him that he was steering the ship, that the work could stop at any time. But we kept working. He wrote a Bible study on Romans. He wrote essays for publication. We started a book of reflections on the healing ministry of Jesus. I don’t think we had a single conversation that last year that didn’t at least touch on work. And he never stopped generating ideas—for the work still to be done, for projects yet to take shape. The last time we talked, he had a lot to say about 2 Corinthians!
Tom knew he was dying. I don’t think the focus on work was a denial of that or an attempt to escape from it. But he knew what life was about: figure out who you are, and be that person. Be that person to the best of your ability—with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength. Be that person at work and at play, with family, friends, and strangers. Be that person in such a way that those around you glorify God, nodding their heads and believing God is with us. Be that person in such a way that those who must go on without you will go on without you, but always saying in their hearts, Here was a man who knew who he was. Here was a man for others.
“But I do not count my life of any value to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the good news of God’s grace.”
Thomas D. Stegman, S.J., was dean and professor of New Testament at the Boston College School of Theology and Ministry, a respected scholar, prolific author, and popular retreat director. A Jesuit of the Midwest Province of the Society of Jesus, Tom was also a beloved brother, son, and uncle, a valued colleague, and a friend to many, including me.
Photo by Tony Rinaldo. Used with permission.