The following mythical memoir was written by

FORBS Director & Officer Santa Ric Erwin

to commemorate the passing of master storyteller

Santa Milt Cottrell,

and with the blessing of his family, was read aloud during memorial services...

THE THIRD ANGEL

by Santa Ric Erwin

…then the Lord said unto the Third Angel, “Why are you unhappy?”

And the Third Angel said, “Truly I AM happy, Lord.”

“Then why do you seem discontented?  Are you disappointed with my decision?”

“No, Lord!  NEVER!”

“Then what is it?”

“Well, it’s just that—oh, never mind… Forgive me, Lord—Thy will be done in this, as in all things!”

There was a moment’s silence, and then the Lord quietly said to the Third Angel, “You know that I can see the questions of your heart… why not just ask them?”

There was a much longer silence, and then the Third Angel said unto the Creator of All Things, “Well, it’s just that you gave my first brother the task of being the guardian angel to Moses —MOSES, who was the foundation upon which You built Your Kingdom on Earth, and who became Your Voice unto all Mankind, exhorting them of Your Righteousness & Majesty!” 

“ And then you gave unto my second brother the task of being the guardian angel to Jesus…JESUS, who was One with You in the Beginning, but whom You made flesh so that He might dwell among Mankind, teaching them of Your Love and Your Compassion—but …”

“Yes…?”

“Forgive me, Lord—I am unworthy of your blessings!”

“YES…?”

Another pause, and then the Third Angel blurted, “But who is this SANTA?  Who is HE, that I should be HIS guardian angel?”

Gently, the Lord lifted the face of the Third Angel, and said, “Do you remember The Plan which we came up with for Mankind after the serpent crept into the Garden and ruined Eden?”

“Yes, Lord:  you told us that their path back to Eden would be long and difficult, and that there was, in fact, no guarantee that they would EVER make it back—but that if they did, they would need three things…”

“And do you remember what those three things were?”

“Certainly, Lord: You said that they would need Faith, Hope, & Charity… but—” 

The Angel’s voice trailed away once more, and then the Lord said, “We knew that Mankind would pass through some dark and terrible times along the way, and if they were to survive the times of chaos and anarchy, they would need to find the strength and security of My Law— therefore, with your first brother’s help, Moses brought unto Mankind FAITH.”

“Later, there came a time when Mankind found a way to make a cruel and intimidating mockery of My Law, eventually making it seem to be all about obedience and conformity—therefore, with your second brother’s help, Jesus brought unto Mankind HOPE.”

By now, the Third Angel was beginning to understand, and his joy began to grow.
     “You see,” said the Lord, “there will come a time when Mankind will become so numerous that the very Earth will become crowded by them—and because of their FAITH, they will have churches of every creed and stripe; and there will be many others who will exercise their freedom of choice, and will seek their own personal relationship with me—independently of any such group!”

“As time continues to pass, My people will endure war, and famine and pestilence aplenty—and because of their HOPE they will remember that I care about them and that I will help them through the hard times” 

“But alas, in this latter age of crowded plenty will My people find their greatest challenge of all:  when there is no grave danger immediately confronting them, nor universal famine, nor raging pestilence—when their comfort abounds and their angst ebbs—then will they need to learn one final lesson:  and with your help, Santa will bring unto them CHARITY.”

“From Santa, they will learn the unmitigated joy of giving, without any thought of repayment, nor even recognition!”

“Through Santa, they will learn of the thrills to be found in a small child’s smile—along with the simple truths which may be learned only by the secret fulfillment of another’s needs!”

“Consider this: in Moses, Mankind found a symbol for their FAITH… and in Jesus, Mankind found a symbol for both their FAITH and their HOPE…  In Santa, Mankind will find a symbol combining FAITH, HOPE, and CHARITY!”

“What’s more, as Santa comes to exemplify all of these things to ALL of My peoples, regardless of their race or gender or place of birth, that clearly means that Santa will need the most help of all— which is why I’ve chosen YOU for this vital task!”

The Third Angel was quiet for a minute, and then said, “Lord, do you think Mankind will ever make it back to Eden?”

And the Lord said, “Well, they always have their own free will, of course, so there is no way for us to be certain—but remember:  from Moses, they learned that Eden is; from Jesus, they learned that Eden is their destination;  from Santa, they may just learn that Eden is theirs to bring about… what do YOU think?”

Smiling brightly now, the Third Angel said, “I think you’re right, of course!  Santa is going to need all the help we can give him!:"

"THANK YOU!!”