They watch me build the altar,
Setting stones one by one.
Rock by rock I raise this pyre
Praying God will light the fire.
I thrust my spade into dry ground
Moving earth on every side.
The sand and rock piles high and steep.
The trench descends three gallons deep.
I lay the wood I hope will burn
The sacrificial beast.
An image once of strength and might.
It’s eyes now fade with dying light.
I’ve finished now what I’ve begun,
Save to douse all chance of fire’s natural rise.
What happens next must be divine.
Lest people think the glory mine.
Great God of many names!
You alone – Ignite the flame!
Cleanse dull minds that all may see:
This is of you, and not of me.
The fire flashes, blinding, bright.
All eyes go dim, and then, true sight.
I am reduced to clay and sod.
The cry goes forth, ‘Yahweh is God.’
Under Christ’s Mercy,
Brent
(Inspired by 1 Kings 18:20-39).