Eternal God,

when the need was so very great,

when things were "way out of plumb",

you sent and spoke through

  not an official,

  not a politician,

  not a network pundit,

but a "herdsman from Tekoa

  and a dresser of sycamore trees".

Still today Amos speaks to us

  of justice and righteousness;

still today Jesus (a carpenter!) speaks to us

  of kindness and neighborliness.

Help us hear the Word you are saying to us through them,

  that our lives might be "in plumb",

  and our neighborhoods secure and at peace.