How do we answer the call of our King?

A young man appears at the the gate of the king’s palace and requests to see the king. He is eyed with great suspicion but permitted a hearing by the highest officials. The king is delighted to see him.

The king says to the young man, “My kingdom is vast, and many do not know me. But I entrust you with this mission: give my people an impression of who I am.” The king hands the young man a scepter, a crown, and a robe, and says, “Go in peace.”

The young man asks, “What am I to go and do?” The king pays him no attention, and the young man is ushered out into the midday sun and begins a slow journey home. His parents are quite delighted that the king had spoken with him. The son, while at work in the fields or resting from his labors, thinks constantly about the king’s orders: “Give my people an impression of who I am.”

The young man seeks out someone older and wiser than he, who says to him, “You met him once, and he gave you a scepter, a crown, and a robe. Try to discover their meaning. Therein may be the key.” The young man agrees and wants to know how he is to earn a living. The wise old man said, “You are a farmer. Remain one. Be what you are. You are not a landlord or a clerk.”

And so, the young man became someone whom everybody loved. He was just, fair, and wise. He did his job without complaint, sowing the seed, feeding the pigs, and fertilizing the land. He said things that were mysterious: “A grain of wheat dies,” “we need not fear death,” and “one thing remains, namely, that one has loved and been loved.”

When he dies, his relatives search for his treasures — the scepter, the crown, and the robe — but all they find is a tattered old book that began with the words, “The genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of Abraham, the son David…”

In each of our lives, there is a call to mission. The mission entrusted to St. Paul and the prophets that came before is a mission given to each of us. The Gospel must take shape in our lives before we can communicate it to others. That begins with a knowledge of Christ. Yet, how can we give an impression of who Christ is if we have not taken the time to know him? To know Christ Jesus is the goal of our lives, and the only way to know him is to contemplate him.

This is a long process. But imperceptibly, something happens, and we are gradually transformed into the image of what we contemplate.
Concentrate on Jesus and set out without knowing where you are going. Study the gifts you have received. A scepter? A cross? A crown (of thorns)? A robe? What Jesus wore when He was humiliated?

If we are to express Christ to others, we must always give them the experience that they are welcome to be themselves. A vocation is personal; it cannot be handed down from generation to generation. It is passed through the Gospel, where it begins anew. 

LAMAR HUNT JR. is the founder of Loretto Companies, LLC; owner of the Kansas City Mavericks, a franchise member of the ECHL hockey league; and a member of the founding family of the Kansas City Chiefs. He was a featured speaker at the Legatus 2021 Summit East. Lamar and his wife, Rita, who have nine children and eight grandchildren, are passionate about supporting Catholic education and advocating for the unborn.