Poojasanaya Lyrics by Rookantha Gunathilaka

Upon the altar,
laying my whole life out,
I offer it to you in love,
my Lord Jesus,
my Jesus,
upon the altar…

Hour by hour, the way you come and go in my heart,
the way you fan out the fires of the sighs within it,
the way you bring ease to the heart like a mound of soft cotton,
my Jesus, that is just how my Jesus is

Upon the altar..

Wherever I go, will you take me with you, Jesus?
will the whole world become a single lamp, Jesus?
will you give the cooling words to redeem the world, Jesus?
like a tiny dot, I too will come, Jesus

Upon the altar..

This is a tender Christian devotional, a song of offering sung to Jesus at Christmas. The singer lays his whole life out upon the poojasanaya, the altar, and gives it over in love: my Lord Jesus, my Jesus. The image is one of complete surrender, a life placed on the altar the way one would offer flowers or a lamp.

The middle describes what that love feels like from day to day. Hour by hour, he says, Jesus comes and goes in his heart, fanning out the fires of its sighs and bringing ease as soft as a mound of cotton wool. There is nothing grand or doctrinal here, only the quiet, personal comfort of feeling watched over, and he sums it up simply: that is just how my Jesus is.

The last verse widens into a prayer for the world. Wherever I go, will you take me with you, he asks; will the whole world become a single lamp; will you give the cooling words that redeem it? He closes with a humble picture of himself, coming to that light like a tiny dot, one small soul among many. It is a gentle, intimate carol about giving yourself over and hoping the whole world finds the same light.