Humble and helped

Jesus, teach me to be humble and ask for help when I need it! Amen.

Jesus came to John the Baptist to be baptized. John tried to stop Him, saying, "I should be baptized by you!" But Jesus said to do it anyway. As soon as John baptized Jesus, the Holy Spirit came down from heaven to Jesus in the shape of a dove, and God the Father's voice said, "This is my beloved Son, and I'm proud of Him."

Being humble can feel very strange -- especially when you're not used to it! If you're struggling with homework and have to go to a tutor, or you get hurt and suddenly can't do things like getting dressed by yourself, you might be embarrassed or angry.

You're proud to be an independent kid, but now you have to be humble and say you need a helping hand.

When people are forced to be humble, they learn a lot. In this week's Gospel (Matt. 3:13-17), Jesus chooses to be humble: He asks John to baptize Him, even though John is just a person and Jesus is the Son of God.

Being humble and asking for help might be hard for you, but other people are often eager to help -- and amazed that you're even asking! John, for example, was shocked that Jesus asked to be baptized, since Jesus was obviously closer to God than any regular person. Jesus could have baptized people Himself!

If you swallow your pride and admit you can't do everything by yourself, good things happen. People teach you some things you were struggling with, or you learn how much others care about you by accepting their help.

Jesus asked to be baptized before He went out to start teaching people about God. He must have felt like He needed to humble Himself and get some support before He started.

By being humble, Jesus learned that there was lots of help available for Him: baptism by John, who prayed over Him; and even encouragement from the Holy Spirit and God the Father, who were there to cheer Him on!