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After Pentecost     Pentecost 20     Luke 17:5-10, particularly verses 7-10

Duty (YC No 220)

We have a common duty

To lift humanity

Above self-preservation

And breed community;

Yes. Service can be duty

To love and bring relief;

When we are truly human,

We act on this belief.

When duty calls so strongly

To walk that extra mile,

We have no obligation

To do it with a smile;

But, if this is our practice

We show that we believe –

The more we give to others

The more we shall receive.

If duty is dictated

We may have little choice;

Our status may be humble;

And thus we have no voice;

We can perform a service

With due humility;

Yet still retain our honour

And live with dignity.

When life is trapped in duty

With no escape in sight,

When darkness fills the future

We need consoling light;

With friends and those who love us

Who help us see it through,

We may resume our duty,

And feel our strength renew.

When sometimes choice seems absent

But duty is quite clear,

When ‘ought’ and ‘must’ keep pressing,

When many ‘shoulds’ appear,

If love and if compassion

Both play a major part,

We can engage with duty

And with a joyful heart.

When Jesus spoke of duty

It was to do God’s will;

To love and show compassion

To exercise goodwill;

If, now, we follow Jesus

Our duty is the same;

To keep this love still growing

Will be our constant aim.

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