“The Feel (good) Joy Story”/ Sermon
What if a Christmas Movie doesn't actually have the "Christmas" part of it?
Text: Romans 15; Matthew 11; James 5
Theme: “The Feel (good) Joy Story”
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Intr – Here’s my suggestion for a 2025 Christmas movie plot, see what you think?
“City girl meets small-town boy, they don’t get along, there’s a baking competition, they end up together in front of a Christmas tree.” Original, eh?
Now, as I was driving back from the gym, I heard a commercial advertising an upcoming “feel-good” Christmas movie. Words like “heartwarming,” “uplifting,” “cozy,” “magical,” and “togetherness” spilled out from the announcers mouth. And the phrase that grabbed my attention leading me to bring this as the sermon illustration today was: “A feel good movie”.
A “feel-good” Christmas movie. Why is it? What exactly is “feel good”? How would you describe it?
The way I see it, feel-good movies seem to be about things that:
- Give us a warm sensation while watching
- Transport us to childhood or past memories
- But most of all: reflect aspirational values we think we and everyone else should have
Those feel-good movies usually end on a feel-good note, meaning it seems that life’s problems can generally be solved with a small dose of togetherness, a pinch of empathy, or a romantic gesture in the snow. Christmas seems to be the chosen date for that aspiration for we should all be aspiring to peace, joy, togetherness and magical things at this time of the year.
Now, let me be clear: I’m not saying it’s wrong to watch these movies. They can be a good way to relax. Also, this is not a sermon against movies, storytelling, or even relaxation. The reason that I can use it as an illustration is that I have actually watched some of those myself.
My concern is much more specific—and much more theological. The problem with “Christmas” feel-good movies: they lack Jesus. There’s the occasional visit to Church here, the caroling there. But it is a Christmas movie, but without Christ at the centre, as you would expect from cultural movies.
Then, without Jesus at the center, who defines ‘good’? Depending on where you come from, what makes one person feel good could make another feel bad. One person’s cozy Christmas makes another wonder why no one lights menorahs. The snow and small-town charm that comfort some feel hollow to me when Christ is missing. Without God as our foundation, “feel-good” becomes whatever makes me comfortable—and comfort is too thin a foundation for Christmas. “Christmas” Feel good movies offer comfort food for the soul but no real Christmas nourishment. They give us a feeling, but not lasting joy. They promise good, but the definition falls short of what our soul needs. The simple, cozy resolution of life’s problems in these movies (“togetherness, a pinch of empathy”) ignores the central truth of Christ’s presence in Christmas. And sometimes we wonder why we can’t feel good when we are pressed into feeling good.
This may be understood as the Law telling us what we must stop enjoying. But above all, it is the Gospel reminding us what we must not lose—Christ Himself.
Cultural priming
We need to be attentive to what I will call “Cultural priming”, the way in which we may be primed to see things. We shouldn’t think that it can’t happen to us because we are strong enough to not be that suggestible.
Here’s an exercise. Listen to me saying these word (Repeat “silk” 8 times) (Ask the question) What do cows drink? (People tend to reply “milk”)
If most of what we hear and pay attention to at this time of the year is “Lights. Gifts. Food. Music. Family. Traditions…”, what would the answer to this question be: “Christmas is about…?(there’s a chance that those words will come to mind before Christ)
Nothing I said was bad. None of those things are sinful. But repetition primes us. That’s what culture does. It doesn’t necessarily attack Christ. It just repeats everything else until Christ slowly fades into the background.[1]
Christmas is not nearly as “feel-good” a story if we think about the reason that baby was born. Picture this: A cross. It’s a feel-terrible story, for it reminds us of our sin, our guilt, and how it cost that baby the suffering on the cross. But here’s the turn: This is precisely how it becomes a story of joy. True, deep, lasting joy. Because it is the proclamation of “peace on earth”—that is, salvation has come.
The feel Joy story
We need to go deeper. Though feeling good is…good, we need more. Christmas brings more. Christmas brings us the Feel JOY Story—the one whose central character came to be Together with us, to bring true joy and peace, to walk with us and offer what no script can give: forgiveness, salvation, and life everlasting.
Here’s the working definition of Good/Joy for this sermon: Joy is every way in which God shows His faithfulness, grace, and love in our life—which may or may not cause us to feel good.
Joy is God’s faithfulness, grace, and love at work in our lives— which doesn’t depend on whether we feel good or not. It is not a feeling we chase or manufacture, but a reality He establishes. And that reality holds steady, and every day. It sometimes makes us feel wonderful, and sometimes sustains us when we feel terrible. Our hope is in the One who is Good and whose mercy endures forever.
Romans 8:28 reminds us, “In all things God works for the good of those who love him.” Psalm 136 repeats the refrain, “His love endures forever.” And Jesus himself said in Mark 10:18, “No one is good—except God alone.”
Where do we find the plot, content and characters of this feel Joy story? In the Book, the Bible. For example, the readings today:
Isaiah 35 paints a picture of barren deserts blooming, the blind seeing, the lame leaping, and the tongue of the mute singing for joy. This isn’t just a feel-good ending—this is God’s promise of restoration and healing that goes deeper than any temporary comfort.
James 5 calls us to patience as we wait for the Lord’s coming, reminding us that the prophets who spoke in God’s name suffered, yet we count them blessed. Joy isn’t the absence of suffering—it’s the presence of God in the midst of it.
And Matthew 11: John the Baptist, sitting in prison, sends his disciples to ask Jesus, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?” Jesus’ answer? “The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor.”
A prophet of God in prison for preaching the Word, and eventually receiving capital punishment is not your usual feel good story. But it is the real story. The feel Joy story. Not one where everything turns out cozy and warm, but where the Kingdom of God breaks into our broken world and transforms it. Where John sits in prison but the Messiah is here. Where suffering exists but redemption is real. Where the script doesn’t always go the way we’d write it, but God is faithful.
The Feel Joy Story, instead of reflecting our aspirational values, reveals God’s values offered to all. Instead of transporting us to our past, it reminds us of God’s deeds throughout history. And yes, it does give us a warm sensation—but it’s the warmth of being received into God’s family, not the manufactured comfort of a scripted ending. The point is: we need more than feeling good. We need to be embraced by the joy of the Savior who brings Good to our life.
Illustration: The Christmas of 2018 wasn’t particularly a feel-good Christmas for our family. After the cancer diagnosis, Jay had had a mastectomy and was preparing for chemo after Christmas. She was carrying Rachel in the womb for about 16 weeks now, and we needed to muster strength and patience in the Lord to walk through the days ahead. It was mostly not a feel-good Christmas, in human terms. But I can tell you that it was a feel Joy Christmas, for we had the same story, the same baby king, the same promise and the same peace in our hearts as in other years. We walked into Christmas and New Year not because of our ability to do well, but because we trusted that the Joy of the Lord was our strength. It is our strength and will ever be.
We want to feel good. And we can feel good. But for us Christmas happens when we live in the Joy of the Lord. So the script of our story is not necessarily a feel-good one. But it is definitely a feel, or rather, a know the Joy of Christmas story that he has given to our hearts.
Conclusion: So here’s the Script of the Feel Joy Story we celebrate this Advent: (Video)
Opening scene: A world in darkness, in need of redemption.
Act One: God doesn’t abandon us to write our own endings. He enters the story Himself.
The Protagonist: Not a charming stranger who wanders into town, but the Son of God who leaves glory to be born in a stable.
The Conflict: Not a misunderstanding that can be solved with better communication, but sin, death, and separation from God.
The Turning Point: Not a kiss under the mistletoe, but a cross on a hill and an empty tomb.
The Resolution: Not just a happy feeling, but
forgiveness. Not just togetherness, but reconciliation with God. Not
just hope in humanity, but hope in the One who conquered death.
The Ending: Not credits rolling a warm glow, but
eternal life—a joy that doesn’t fade, a good that doesn’t depend on our
circumstances, a love that never fails.
This is the Feel Joy Story.
And the beautiful thing?
This isn’t a story you watch. It is a story you live.
Amen.
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