On this day of our brother Andrew's baptism, we were blessed to receive this soul searching sermon from 1 Timothy 1:15-17 of St. Paul's transformation—a movement from self-righteousness and violence to humility and grace. Fr. Robert’s interpretation highlights the profound nature of Paul’s confession, "the chief of sinners": his past identity as a blasphemer, persecutor, and a man of violence was rooted in the law as an end in itself. This distortion, as Fr. Robert examines, is not just a misrepresentation of divine justice but also a reduction of God’s nature to either an oppressive ruler or a mere slavish wish-granter—both of which fail to capture the true essence of divine love. St. Paul’s acknowledgment of being the “chief of sinners” is not an exaggeration but an honest reckoning with his past life, where hubris blinded him to the transformative love of Christ. His conversion, then, is not just a personal redemption but a model for all who seek to enter into the new creation. This new life, as Fr. Robert points out, is one characterized by mercy, compassion, patience, and kindness—the very virtues that Christ Himself embodies. In baptism, we are called to this same renewal, putting off the old self and being clothed in the new life of Christ. St. Paul’s story is an invitation for all of us to move beyond false images of God and embrace the reality of Christ who is both love and truth—prompting us to reflect on how we stand in relation to Him, each other and ourselves.