NOW ALL IS WELL!
Christmas Eve Message, 1998
(with grateful acknowledgement to Stories of Christmas Carols, by Ernest K. Emurian (c. 1967 Baker Books)
Greenwood Community Church, Presbyterian
Many of the traditional carols of this holiday season are of unknown origin. For example, the French carol "Angels We Have Heard On High" remains anonymous, the name of both poet and composer being unrecorded anywhere. "Good Christian Men, Rejoice" (In Dulci Jubilo), from a Latin poet of the Middle Ages and a fourteenth century German composer, is another splendid example of an anonymous carol that has lasted through the centuries, as is our next carol, "The First Noel." This Christmas carol is arguably the oldest familiar carol in the English language. After having been handed down by word-of-voice for many generations, it was finally copied down with the stanzas properly polished and the tune harmonized, and printed for the first time in a collection of Christmas carols published in 1833...but no one knows who wrote it, or who composed the tune. "Traditional English Carol" (as written in the top left-hand corner of the page) is all we know. For that matter, no one knows for certain the origin of the word "Noel," along with its exact original meaning. No one knows for certain where Noel came from; no one knows for certain what it originally meant. Many educated guesses have been made, but there is far from universal agreement. For example, some scholars claim the word is of French origin, signifying "a shout of joy" at the birth of the baby Jesus. Others, pressing further back into the medieval Latin, say it is derived from a familiar word "natalis" which means "birth," having to do with the birth of our Lord; hence we speak of Christmas as "His natal day." Then there is another Latin word that some claim as the real grandfather of "Noel," the word "novella" which roughly means "news," thus conveying the idea that the news of the coming of Christ caused the shouts of joy associated with the Advent season.
Many linguistic scholars, however, believe that the word is of English origin, and that the correct English spelling of the word is "Nowell" rather than the French "Noel," with the umlaut over the "e." (In fact, the surname Nowell is still in popular use, and dates back to at least the fifteenth century in England). They also believe that Nowell is another example of the English proclivity for abbreviation. For example, in 1247 A.D. a hospital was founded in England called St. Mary of Bethlehem. Two centuries later this facility was converted into a hospital for the insane. In those days when the mentally ill were often just warehoused, chained and often abused, that institution became known throughout the country for its noise, confusion, disorder and generally chaotic atmosphere. It came to pass that the original name of St. Mary’s of Bethlehem was shortened to Bethlehem, and then corrupted and contracted into Bedlam. Bedlam became synonymous with unorganized confusion and all of the shouts, cries, screams, yells and assorted noises that issued from a medieval insane asylum.
Another example: the English people took the delightful parting phrase "Fare thee well," and shortened it to "Farewell." They also took the phrase "God be with you", and by mouthing it too quickly or half-swallowing, corrupted and contracted the four words into one, "God be with you" became "Goodbye." In the same manner, it is believed that the word "Nowell" was at first a phrase of four words. What was this four word phrase? It seems that the phrase was one used by our British forebears to greet each other every Christmas morning: "Now all is well!" as if to say, "Christ has come, so, now all is well with the world!" Just as "St. Mary of Bethlehem" became, within the span of a few centuries, such a word as "bedlam," "Now all is well!" soon became "Now’s well" and then merely "Now well;" it was a short step from those two words to the one word "Nowell." So, when the unknown author of "The First Nowell" sat down to compose his narrative poem about the birth of Jesus, he must have decided that the message of the angels to the shepherds, "Fear not, for behold I bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be to all people" (Luke 2:10), was a message to remind them that "Now all is well" for Christ is born in Bethlehem. The poet did take some minor liberties with the New Testament story, such as having the shepherds look up and see the star
(the wise men followed the star, not the shepherds), and numbering the "wise men" by the number of their gifts (there were three gifts, but we don’t know that there were three wise men); however, the song is one that underscores this central truth and hope: The First Noel, the first real announcement that all will indeed be well, the first genuine Now All Is Well, was said by the angel to certain poor shepherds in fields as they lay. "Now all is well, now all is well, now all is well, now all is well..." Why? Because "...born is the king of Israel!"Was all well? Not really...those poor shepherds in fields as they lay remained poor shepherds. They still lived in an occupied country; existing under the heavy boot of Roman imperialism. The unknown author lived in a time when life was usually nasty, brutish and short. Disease, death, poverty and suffering still abound. However...the author still wrote with conviction...Now all is well, now all is well, now all is well, now all is well, Born is the king of Israel. Because this same infant (stanza 6) grew into manhood to become the Christ "who with His blood mankind hath bought;" the wonder of His birth is inextricably entwined with the wonder of His death and resurrection, which secures for all time the hope that all will indeed one day be well...complete, whole, redeemed and restored.
There is sweet irony in the linguistic derivation of the word Bedlam. From St. Mary’s of Bethlehem comes the confusion, disorder and chaos of Bedlam...but from the "original" Bethlehem in Judea comes the peace, beauty, order, wholeness of Jesus Christ as He is born into this world to establish His reign forever and ever. Now all is well, now all is well, now all is well, now all is well, born is the King of Israel. Let us now sing this glorious carol: