9th January 2026

9th January 2026


Pray (ACts)


Read (John 1:19-28 focus v24-28)


Message (Alan Burke)


The Island of Jura is one of my favourite places to go, I’ve been a few times and the last was back in 2024 where I couldn’t manage to convince my compatriots to attempt the paps of Jura. The time before that I went on a rib to the Corryvreckan Whirlpool and asked could we make a wee stop on the way which the skipper was more than happy to facilitate. While everyone else on the rib were interested in the scenery when we stopped, taking pictures and we got to see a White-tailed Eagle swooping I was more interested in Barnhill house. 


Barnhill house is where George Orwell wrote his dystopian novel that portrayed a terrifying future for humanity called ‘1984’. Since having children I’ve struggled to read it because of the scene as Winston recalling a childhood memory where he selfishly takes his sister's chocolate ration and runs away, after which his mother and sister disappear forever. It’s amazing how you change. But it is another novel written that came to mind and it is his work ‘Animal Farm’ which a satirical allegorical dystopian novella, in the form of a beast fable that critiques the hypocrisy of a society that claims equality while allowing some to dominate others. 


There is a phrase in it “all animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others”. Equality is a myth, you can try to argue against me but while everyone is theoretically entitle to the same rights and opportunities, while we have laws that try to prevent discrimination we all know that if you have the right connections, or if you have enough money that some people are more equal than others. 


Here is where I am going with this, Jesus said of John the Baptist  “Truly I tell you, among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist;” (Mt 11:11). None greater than John the Baptist. Yet this John whom there was none greater than said that he was not worthy to untie the thongs of Jesus’ sandals. We likely miss the fulness of what is being said by John, in effect only a slave would have untied the sandals of another, and John is saying that he’s not even worthy of doing that. 


John knew that before the one who was among them, who comes after him, that he was a sinful man, that the Christ is God incarnate, the sinless son of God. We might think that there are things that are beneath us, things we would never do, that is for someone else, it’s not for you. You might look at others and envy their status, wishing, dreaming that you had what they had. Yet know that no matter what our status in this life, whether we are all equal and some are more equal than others, that before the Christ, before Jesus the eternally begotten son of God you, yes you and I are unworthy sinners who deserve nothing but his eternal wrath. We are not worthy to untie even the thongs of his sandals and yet he came and died for the salvation of all who repent of their sin and believe. Oh what a saviour. Respond not just with tokenism, but with the adoration he deserves, with the entirety of your life.


Pray (acTS)


Sing


WSC
Q67 Which is the sixth commandment?
A. The sixth commandment is, Thou shalt not kill.
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