Touched by an Angel

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Episode 502: “Miles To Go Before I Sleep”

Episode 502: “Miles To Go Before I Sleep”
Original Air Date: September 20, 1998
Written by: Burt Pearl
Directed by: Jon Andersen
Produced by:

Martha Williamson
Jon Andersen
R.J. Visciglia, Jr.

Guest Cast:
Arthur    Chad Lowe
Rita    Margot Kidder
Jo    Elaine Kagan
John Minore    Johnny Green
Candy    Samaria Graham
Judy Bowers    Carrie Snodgress
Young Arthur    Logan Robbins
Young Toby   Scott E. Cox

When Andrew arrives at a hospital to escort an elderly Mr. Richards to Heaven, Mr. Richards makes Andrew promise to help someone else in the hospital, someone whose soul is dying.  Mr. Richards directs Andrew to the bible he is leaving behind which, he insists, will answer Andrew’s questions.  Andrew meets up with Monica and Tess who are at the hospital to minister to the patients, but no one knows the whereabouts of Mr. Richards’ Bible.  Complicating matters, Rita Lasky, a terminally ill woman with no will to live, claims to have seen the Angel of Death and that it told her to “hurry up and die.”  Monica tells Rita God would never ask someone to give up, and that if an angel says something that is not from God, then it’s not an angel.

Meanwhile, Andrew is caring for John Minore, a young man with brain cancer, who has faith that he will be miraculously healed.  Arthur Bowers, a kind-hearted orderly, tells John about Rita’s angel-sighting and insists that there is an angel in the hospital.  When Rita wakes up from her medicated sleep, she rebuffs Monica’s attempt to convince her that the angel is a fraud. Before the rumor can settle, John Minore claims to have been visited by the Angel of Death, who told him not to be afraid of his imminent death.  Andrew pleads with John not to give up on life but John is convinced that he will die in surgery.  As the patients’ will to live dwindles, Tess continues to search for Mr. Richards’ missing bible, hoping for some clue as to the identity of the pseudo-angel.

Monica questions the skeptical head nurse, Jo, who denies having anything to do with the angel.  Monica goes to Rita and reveals herself as a real angel as Rita professes her need to speak to her estranged sister.  Tess finds the shredded Bible in a trash dumpster, and as the angels sift through the pages, the “Angel of Death” visits John again.  The angels chase down the false angel, revealing that it is really Arthur Bowers in a costume.  Arthur tries to escape, but Andrew is everywhere he turns, finally revealing his identity.  Andrew gives him the verse from Mr. Richards’ Bible.  “I will seek that which was lost and return that which was driven away.”

Andrew questions Arthur about his troubled past, and takes Arthur home to make amends with his estranged mother.  Arthur explains to his mother that, years ago, he left Toby, his late brother, alone on the day he died and has since been suffering from guilt, trying to fix everyone but himself.  Arthur’s mother forgives him but tells him he must forgive himself.  Arthur admits his false identity to John Minore and introduces Andrew as the real Angel of Death.  Andrew asks John to cling to life and John enters surgery with a hopeful attitude.  Monica helps Rita make peace with her sister before Andrew delivers her to Heaven

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