Hungry for More: Gluttony & Greed

1st Sunday of Lent | Dcn. Chris Haberberger

In this first installment of our Lenten series on the Seven Deadly Sins, Dcn. Chris Haberberger invites us to look deeper than the surface of our usual Lenten question: “What are you giving up?”

Focusing on gluttony and greed, this homily reveals that the real battle of temptation is not about food or money — it is about trust.

Drawing from Genesis 3 and the Temptation of Jesus in the desert (Matthew 4:1–11), we see how the serpent plants suspicion in the human heart: Did God really say? Temptation begins when we begin to believe that God is small, that He is holding out on us, or that He cannot satisfy our deepest needs. Once that lie takes root, we begin grasping for substitutes.

Gluttony is not merely overeating. It is the refusal to be empty. It is the habit of filling every moment of discomfort with noise, food, scrolling, distraction, or comfort so that we never have to feel our deeper hunger.

Greed is not simply about wealth. It is the fear of dependence. It is the belief that if we can accumulate enough, control enough, or secure enough, we will finally be safe. But no amount of money or planning can eliminate the cross or prevent death. Only Christ can do that.

Jesus overcomes temptation not through sheer willpower, but by remaining who He is — the beloved Son. He refuses to live as an orphan. He refuses small comforts and small securities in exchange for communion with the Father.

This Lent, we are invited not merely to give something up, but to enlarge our desire. Before reaching for our automatic comforts — the late-night snack, the drink, the phone — we are challenged to pause and pray:

“Jesus, what am I really hungry for?”

Even five minutes of waiting can reclaim our freedom.

Lent is not a religious self-improvement plan. It is a season of rediscovering that our deepest hunger is for God — and that only communion with Him can truly satisfy.