SUNDAY, July 12 6 Pentecost

As fruit farmer and livestock owner, Amos had to think beyond himself to understand the tools of another trade--a carpenter's plumb line.

My career also is in agriculture. I know that the health of a country's agriculture is a measure of its strength. If the people are well-fed, the idea of peace is easier to grasp.

Shelter also is important. As we restore this older house, we marvel at the workmanship. Precisely measured boards are difficult to replicate, except with patience and the right tools. Yet the builder of this house used many second-hand materials, gathered from demolished buildings, so as not to waste. The massive stone of the fireplace and all the hand-made exterior brick came from buildings torn down.

What we've removed from the house in updating has gone to our local Habitat for Humanity Restore where it is sold to others, the funds then earmarked for building another family a home. Amos is a role model. He surely knew that food--his fruit and livestock--fed the hungry. But he worked for social justice in larger ways with his voice and his action.

PRAY for the Diocese of Sydney – Liverpool  (New South Wales, Australia)