Years ago my mother purchased her first microwave oven. I was impressed. To be able to cook hot dogs in mere seconds seemed a wonderful innovation in culinary technology. Around the same time, however, she bought a Crock-Pot, an instrument that baffled me entirely. Why would anyone deliberately buy an appliance designed to do the job slowly? It could take all day to do dinner in the Crock-Pot. The microwave would do it in seconds.

Of course, as any decent chef will tell you, some things taste better when cooked slowly. Time can be a useful ingredient in deepening a rich and full-bodied taste. You don't always want to rush things in the kitchen. You don't always want to rush things in the pulpit.

Let the listener savor the message.

I come from a long line of slow eaters. I spent the better part of my childhood listening to my mother encouraging me to " hurry up " and to " eat faster. " Now I tell her that slower eating aids digestion. It is healthier, or so the experts ...