If the Word of God is living and powerful, and if the Lord does all things whatsoever he wills; if he said, "Let there be light", and it happened; if he said, "let there be a firmament", and it happened; ...if finally the Word of God himself willingly became man and made flesh for himself out of the most pure and undefiled blood of the holy and ever Virgin, why should he not be capable of making bread his Body and wine and water his Blood?... God said, "This is my Body", and "This is my Blood."
Interpretation
This quote emphasizes the power of divine words and the belief in transubstantiation, where bread and wine become the body and blood of Christ.
In this quote, John of Damascus reflects on the omnipotence of God, illustrating how God's words are inherently powerful and bring forth creation and transformation. He argues that if God can create light and the heavens merely by speaking, then it is entirely plausible for God to transform bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ during the Eucharist, reinforcing the belief in the sacramental mystery central to Christian faith.
In practice
In a sermon about understanding faith, one could reference this quote to illustrate the power of God's words.
The saints must be honored as friends of Christ and children and heirs of God. Let us carefully observe the manner of life of all the apostles, martyrs, ascetics, and just men who announced the coming of the Lord. And let us emulate their faith, charity, hope, zeal, life, patience under suffering, and perseverance unto death so that we may also share their crowns of glory.
Both angels and demons are ignorant of the future, yet they make predictions. The angels do so when God reveals the future to them and commands them to prophesy, and what they prophesy comes to pass. Demons also make predictions, but these are only guesses based on what they see from afar.
Angels are intelligent reflections of light, that original light which has no beginning. They can illuminate. They do not need tongues or ears, for they can communicate without speech, in thought.
All who ask receive, those who seek find, and to those who knock it shall be opened. Therefore, let us knock at the beautiful garden of Scripture. It is fragrant, sweet, and blooming with various sounds of spiritual and divinely inspired birds. They sing all around our ears, capture our hearts, comfort the mourners, pacify the angry, and fill us with everlasting joy.
...we shall incur no slight injury, but rather great danger, if we rashly yield ourselves to the inclinations of men who aim at exciting strife and tumults, so as to draw us away from what is good? Let us cleave, therefore, to those who cultivate peace with godliness?
Every man possesses that which is according to the image of God, for the gifts of God are irrevocable (Rom. 11:29). But only a few ? those who are virtuous and holy, and have imitated the goodness of God to the limit of human powers ? possess that which is according to the likeness of God.
All the principles of heaven and earth are living inside you.
It seemed that rebellion must have an unassailable base, something guarded not merely from attack, but from the fear of it: such a base as we had in the Red Sea Parts, the desert, or in the minds of the men we converted to our creed.
No man need fear death, he need fear only that he may die without having known his greatest power: the power of his free will to give his life for others
If it is not tempered by compassion, and empathy, reason can lead men and women into a moral void.
No one thought up being. He who thinks he has, step forward.
All rulers in all ages have tried to impose a false view of the world upon their followers.
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