Jesus heals a man possessed by demons (Luke 8:26-39).
The healing begins with the naming of the demons. Naming demons has the power to begin the freedom from them. This is especially true when we name them ourselves.
Yet...
The disciples never learned the name of the man; they simply referred to him as the demon possessed man. A reminder that we can demonize other people, ignoring their name and identifying them by their demons, their trauma, their sins and all the ways we don't like them. This demonizing people is always the first step away from peace and reconciliation. On the other side, learning someone's name is the first step toward peace.
In Baptism, we discover the power of Jesus both to give us the name that drives away the power of evil, but also the name that gives us back our humanity: beloved child of God.
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