What an astute observation! And most valid, even in this day and age. Though raised in the Roman Catholic Church, I now practice my faith in a Maronite Catholic (Eastern) Church. This is the Church of Antioch where Peter went following our Lord's Ascension, and served as bishop before proceeding to Rome. I recall our bishop's first visit. As he shook hands with a parishioner, he would specifically ask their family name. At the time I did not understand the significance. Later, someone explained the heritage of each family's roots, dating back many generations.
The Maronite Catholic Church follows a fixed liturgical calendar. On the last sunday of "advent", the Maronite Church celebrates:
Genealogy Sunday
In this icon, the genealogy of Our Lord is represented as the tree of Jesse, out of which grows the Messianic branch (Is 11:1). At the lower part of the tree, at the top of the trunk, is depicted Adam, the first man created in the image of God; at the top of the tree is Christ, the Perfect second Adam, born to redeem and save lost mankind. Between Adam and Christ are portrayed the most significant in the human line of genealogy. The entwining branches and leaves represent the fourteen generations from Abraham to Christ. We also see, in the top of the icon, portray of the Holy Trinity. God the Father is depicted by a Divine Hand reaching down into human history. In the center, at the top of the tree, is Christ the incarnate Son of God. At the top right is represented the Holy Spirit, in the form of a dove. As for the shades of blue, they stand for the divine presence of God and for eternal light. The blues also stand for heaven and the greens for earth, as heaven and earth meet in genealogy of the Son of God.
It may be interesting to note that in the Middle East, it is rare for families to adopt children from orphanages. Family heritage is intrinsic to that reasoning. Here in the western world, as an adoptee and adoptive parent, I often ponder the ramifications of growing up as the product of IVF and/or donor insemination. Consider that 2000 years ago, people were not aware of DNA but intrinsically understood the need to maintain gene pools.
Last night, I happened to catch a program on NBC entitled: "Who do you think you are?" Working with celebrities and the Ancestry.com database, the producers assist these celebs trace their family's heritage back to the time when the family immigrated to the US. Learning about the travails of their ancestors makes a significant impact on them.
But what about the heritage and inherited gene pool of IVF/sperm donor children? Don't they also have a right to know about their ancestors?
Thank you for sharing your insights on this thread!