Intr \u2013 \u00a0\u00a0<\/strong>Here\u2019s my suggestion for a 2025 Christmas movie plot, see what you think?<\/p>\n “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?<\/p>\n 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: \u201cA feel good movie\u201d.<\/p>\n A “feel-good” Christmas movie. Why is it? What exactly is “feel good”? \u00a0How would you describe it?<\/p>\n The way I see it, feel-good movies seem to be about things that:<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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. \u00a0The reason that I can use it as an illustration is that I have actually watched some of those myself.<\/p>\n My concern is much more specific\u2014and much more theological. The problem with \u201cChristmas\u201d feel-good movies: they lack Jesus. There\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n 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, \u201cfeel-good\u201d becomes whatever makes me<\/em> comfortable\u2014and comfort is too thin a foundation for Christmas. \u201cChristmas\u201d 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\u2019t feel good when we are pressed into feeling good.<\/p>\n 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\u2014Christ Himself.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong>Cultural priming<\/strong><\/p>\n We need to be attentive to what I will call \u201cCultural priming\u201d, the way in which we may be primed to see things. We shouldn\u2019t think that it can\u2019t happen to us because we are strong enough to not be that suggestible.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s an exercise. Listen to me saying these word (Repeat \u201csilk\u201d 8 times) (Ask the question) What do cows drink? (People tend to reply \u201cmilk\u201d)<\/p>\n\n