Tuesday, March 19, 2024
Liturgical Season: 
Special Significance: 
Mar Joseph

2 Kgs 4:38-44

The Poisoned Stew. 38g When Elisha returned to Gilgal, there was a famine in the land. Once, when the guild prophets were seated before him, he said to his servant, “Put the large pot on, and make some vegetable stew for the guild prophets.” 39Someone went out into the field to gather herbs and found a wild vine, from which he picked a sackful of poisonous wild gourds. On his return he cut them up into the pot of vegetable stew without anybody’s knowing it. 40The stew was served, but when they began to eat it, they cried, “Man of God, there is death in the pot!” And they could not eat it. 41He said, “Bring some meal.” He threw it into the pot and said, “Serve it to the people to eat.” And there was no longer anything harmful in the pot.

The Barley Loaves. 42h A man came from Baal-shalishah bringing the man of God twenty barley loaves made from the first fruits, and fresh grain in the ear. Elisha said, “Give it to the people to eat.” 43But his servant objected, “How can I set this before a hundred?” Elisha again said, “Give it to the people to eat, for thus says the LORD: You will eat and have some left over.” 44He set it before them, and when they had eaten, they had some left over, according to the word of the LORD.

Rom 4:16-18

16For this reason, it depends on faith, so that it may be a gift, and the promise may be guaranteed to all his descendants, not to those who only adhere to the law but to those who follow the faith of Abraham, who is the father of all of us,j 17as it is written, “I have made you father of many nations.” He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into being what does not exist.k 18He believed, hoping against hope,l that he would become “the father of many nations,” according to what was said, “Thus shall your descendants be.”

Mt 1:18-25

The Birth of Jesus.* 18Now this is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about. When his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph,* but before they lived together, she was found with child through the holy Spirit. 19Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man,* yet unwilling to expose her to shame, decided to divorce her quietly. 20j Such was his intention when, behold, the angel of the Lord* appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home. For it is through the holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her. 21She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus,* because he will save his people from their sins.” 22All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet:

23* k “Behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear a son,

and they shall name him Emmanuel,”

which means “God is with us.” 24When Joseph awoke, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took his wife into his home. 25He had no relations with her until she bore a son,* and he named him Jesus.l