Civility Matthew 22:36-40

A Sadducee, who was a lawyer, asked… 36 Master, which is the great commandment in the law? 37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. Matthew 22:36-40 (KJV)

What is civility? University of Tennessee Community Action Message https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7uwiLK_FR0

Why a discussion on civility? Letter to the UMC North Texas Conference from Bishop Michael McKee… This is more than a discussion on being polite with each other…. Civility is not “rolling over and playing dead”…. People need to be able to raise tough questions and ideas without fear of being threatened…. Recognition that confrontations are inevitable in a society that believes in free speech…. Make resolution possible with win-win opportunities instead of win-lose confrontations….

May 26, 2016 SIGNIFICANT POINTS MS SCARBROUGH MAKES? Shelby Scarbrough: Who is she and why is she “qualified” to speak to us on civility? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9YXmljRvhrU SIGNIFICANT POINTS MS SCARBROUGH MAKES? Civility is an ages’ old need (Example: G. Washington’s Rules of Civility and Decent Behavior) The components of civility apply to our needs and to the needs of others: Trust and Respect Courtesy Dignity Honor Humility Civility is selfless: “Noticing the needs of others without needing to be noticed.”

Practicing Civility “Civility represents the sum of all the sacrifices that one makes in a democracy for the sake of living a common life.” Stephen Carter, Civility: Manners, Morals, and the Etiquette of Democracy

Practicing Civility Supreme Court justice Thurgood Marshall reflected on his career, he would say “wonderfully nice things, and apparently mean them” about even those who had been strong advocates of segregation. How could he do this…His reply was that one could be wrong on a particular issue, but that doesn’t make that person any less human! (FaithLink, Novmber 6, 2016)

Practicing Civility Staying present in conversation even when we vehemently disagree… We listen and seek to understand…”which may nauseate us”… Remember this line from the Prayer of St. Francis: “O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek…to be understood, as to understand.” (FaithLink, Novmber 6, 2016)

John Wesley’s Sermon 22: “Upon Our Lord’s John Wesley’s Sermon 22: “Upon Our Lord’s Sermon on the Mount: Discourse Two” Wesley proclaims that love doesn’t “behave itself unseemly and isn’t rude or willingly offensive” to anyone. It renders to each individual “all that is due, fear or honor to some, but courtesy, civility, and humanity to all the world, honoring all people.” Wesley saw that love is the central motivation to civility and civility and courtesy were the BIRTHRIGHT to all persons. (FaithLink, Novmber 6, 2016)

November 17, 2016 “Let us lay aside the political differences heightened by the last election. And let us remember that we are called to serve the Christ and to love whom He loves. Therefore, despite our political differences, let us join hands and declare to the purveyors of fear and intimidation that their actions and words have no place among us.” Bishop Michael McKee NATIONAL DAY OF PRAYER - Thursday, May 4th, 2017

Closing Prayer: Prayer of St. Francis Lord, make me an instrument of your peace: where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy. O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seekto be consoled as to console, to be understood as to understand, to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive, it is in pardoning that we are pardoned, and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen.

SOURCES FAITHLINK, November 6, 2016 Letter November 17, 2016. Bishop Michael McKee, The United Methodist Church George Washington’s Mount Vernon: http://www.mountvernon.org/digital- encyclopedia/article/the-rules-of-civility-and-decent-behaviour/ Civility YouTube May 26, 2016. Shelby Scarbrough The Meaning of Civility. Guy Burgess, PhD. And Heidi Burgess, PhD., University of Colorado