Philippians, Tim Kaine and Stephen Colbert: Who Knew?



Imagine my surprise when Stephen Colbert featured several quotes from the Bible all in one episode of the Tonight Show!  Not that liberals can’t be religious but Christianity hasn’t been fashionable in Hollywood since Jane Fonda found God and it turned out not to be Ted Turner.  
The first quote came from his guest, Vice Presidential candidate Tim Kaine.  Kaine is a practicing Catholic (as is Colbert) and spent a year in Honduras as a Jesuit missionary worker.  He taught welding and carpentry to the Hondurans when he could have been at Harvard, which is what I call living your faith.  You have to admire that.  When Colbert asked Kaine for his favorite quote from the Bible Kaine offered Philippians 2:3. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves.   
Kaine was followed by Tony Hale, an actor on a truly vile HBO series called VEEP.  Hale is also creator of The Haven, a place for NYC Christian artists.  Colbert asked him what he could offer from Philippians and Hale quoted 4:4-7.  Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!  Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.  Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.  The man knows his Bible.   
I don’t watch Colbert by choice.  You have to wade through six minutes of boredom for 20 seconds of funny, which essentially means Colbert can’t hold Johnny Carson’s coat let alone sit in his chair.  Nevertheless, I was impressed with the obvious commitment to Bible study on the part of Colbert and his chosen guests.  And it got me looking at the 11th book of the New Testament.  If it has been a while since you did the same, pick it up.  Philippians takes up only 2 ½ pages in my Bible, and it is worth 30 minutes of study. 
Philippians is the last of Paul of Tarus’s four “prison” epistles (Ephesians, Colossians and Philemon and Philippians).  While Colossians was meant to address a specific time of crises, Philippians is a message of pure joy.  Paul ventured to the Greek town of Philippi around 50 AD, establishing the first Christian community in Europe, and in this letter Paul (imprisoned in Rome) recalls the happiness of this time in his discipleship. 
The quotes are designed to show how people of Christian beliefs may build a thriving and harmonious community by modeling their lives on Christ. It is one of the most quoted books in the Bible and we can all use a little community building right now.
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ…
…And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God…
…Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ…
…whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things…
…And the God of peace will be with you.
So, maybe it is true that love is love is love is love is love.  Keep the faith.

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