NOTE: As I was finishing this post, I received a call to inform me of the mob that rushed the capitol building:
Who would have thought 4 years ago that Mike Pence would find himself in the position he is in today.
He is being pressured by a man who some say has broken rules and promises, manipulated people to get his way and belittled, bullied and berated those he considers his enemies his entire adult life. As Vice President, Pence hitched his political star to the President and the President likewise hitched his spiritual star to Pence. The President needed him to attract the white evangelical vote and to provide cover for his behavior that was blatantly un-christian.
Now Pence needs Trump politically more than Trump needs Pence spiritually.
There are scores of his supporters that believe Trump was sent by Jesus himself to save America. My guess is that Pence is scratching his head and muttering “God works in mysterious ways” as he considers how that happened. Pence has spent the last 4 years in support of or not openly opposed to all of Trump’s breaking of political norms. For all I know, Pence may have brought Trump to Jesus during his term as VP and it will not surprise me if he attempts a little breaking of norms himself today during what is normally a procedural counting of the electoral college votes by a joint session of Congress.
As a man who has ascended to his position because he is recognized as a man of prayer, i am thinking that Pence has been doing a lot of praying lately. I remove myself from situations where I am overhearing conversations not meant for me but I must admit that the idea of eavesdropping on Pence’s conversations with God as he prepared for the role he will play today has captured my attention.
“Your will be done” is a common prayer for those who yield to God’s will in the world. I wonder if Pence went that route.
Presenting God with a list of things to bring to pass is a common prayer for those who want God to yield to their will in the world.
Requesting God reveal his will so that we can make choices and decisions that align with God’s will is another method of seeking guidance and sometimes a request that God remove our personal desires from the equation is part of this approach to prayer.
More often than not a combination of these types of prayers get shoved in God’s face.
I know this may seem borderline blasphemous but allow me to imagine ( with just a little tongue in cheek) the prayer Pence may have offered to God:
Dear Heavenly Father, I come before you recognizing you as the master of Heaven and earth, recognizing you as the beginning and the end and everything in between. Dear Lord, know that I honor you, I praise you, I bow down to you and your will. Please forgive my sins. Oh Lord thank you for bringing me through the rollercoaster ride of the last 4 years. There are times when I was not sure that I was representing you in a way that would cause unbelievers to drop to their knees, repent and seek salvation but you kept me during those times of doubt and uncertainty. Never once, Lord, did I believe the lies that were being told even if it looked to the outside observer that I did believe the lies. You know my heart Lord. I thank you for your grace, your mercy, your eternal love and your guidance. Please lord let it be in your will that republicans keep control of the senate. You know how important this is for the future of America. Please Lord, if there is any iota of evidence supporting the kind of election fraud my boss, your anointed one, is claiming, let it be revealed in a mighty way before January 6, 2021. May you also reveal to me what power I may have to let your people know that I hear their cries of election fraud and please Lord reveal to me how to wield that power while abiding by the constitution. As you know, I am your lowly servant whose only mission in life is to serve you and to serve the citizens of America in a godly fashion. You have brought me this far and I know you have greater things in store for me and if it is in your will that I be elected president in 2024, please guide me as I moderate the upcoming Electoral College elector count. Please help me to be courageous as I carry out your will, the will of the people, the will of the writers of the constitution and the will of the one you have placed in leadership over our country. Show me the way to navigate this process so that we can keep America great and in whatever way you so choose, keep me great as well. Thank you master, Thank you Lord, in Jesus’ name I pray.
Let me be clear, I do not know Mike Pence, nor am I making fun of prayer, I do not profess to know the details of Pence’s relationship to God, I am just exercising a thought experiment because his position in all of this is so fascinating.
Pence has a mighty responsibility today as the world will be looking on as he carries it out. There are millions of American citizens who believe election fraud occurred and that the election was stolen from the guy they voted for. There are millions more who believe the entire election fraud spectacle is mere theater and more of the same from a professional huckster who’s entire professional existence rests on the idea that he knows how to win. There are certainly those who fall somewhere in the middle of these two extremes and then there is Pence tasked with navigating a process the writers of the constitution may not have ever imagined. The clause relating to dissent from congressmen clearly states that in the event of disagreement, each body will meet separately, debate and return. Both bodies then must agree to accept the electors or not and as the moderator of this process, the Vice President simply announces the results.
It is possible that the writers of section 15 of title 3 of the US Code thought it was enough for the Vice President to act in a procedural fashion. They may not have considered a devout Christian who quite possibly believes God placed his boss in power to save America and only he (Pence) has the power to help the fraud be revealed and his boss be rightfully placed in his position of leadership. A Christian who has fed his mind with scripture full of examples where people with influence follow what they believe to be God’s will, NOT the will of man’s law. Let’s take the book of Esther for example. The book's theme is the reversal of destiny through a sudden and unexpected turn of events: the Jews seem destined to be destroyed, but instead are saved. In literary criticism such a reversal is termed "peripety", and while on one level its use in Esther is simply a literary or aesthetic device, on another it is structural to the author's theme, suggesting that the power of God is at work behind human events.[11]
Is Pence going to fashion himself as America’s Esther and be pivotal to the “saving” of the country or will he simply follow the procedures as outlined in Title 3 of the US Code, section 15 which addresses objections to the counting of one or more electoral votes from a state or the District Of Columbia.
Will he follow what some may say is God’s will or man’s law.
Stay tuned.
*Edited March 11, 2021 - Removed paragraph referencing Nancy Pelosi
As always, beautifully written.