THE OFFICE's Michael Scott & IVF (or, When Ignorance Seems Like Bliss)

Well, tonight is the finale of The Office.  And with that in mind, I thought I would share this vintage post:
____________________________

What Office fan doesn't love Michael? He has a heart of gold but is completely clueless as to the inappropriateness of his comments or how the world truly functions. My biggest laughs come when Michael makes a comment and the camera pans to Jim - eyes wide in disbelief. But we love Michael; we know he doesn't say or do anything with malicious intent (except to Tobey). We have to admit, however, that his behavior, no matter how well-intentioned, handicaps him in the "real world."  He is starving for real intimacy.

It struck me while laying in bed last night that, from God's perspective, our world must look like a bunch of Michaels running around. We have so many behaviors in our culture - behaviors engaged in with no realization they are at odds they with the "real world" of God and His Kingdom. Let me throw one out there for consideration: IVF, or in vitro fertilization. It's a fairly common procedure nowadays, engaged in by loving husbands and wives struggling against infertility and desperate to welcome a biological child of their own into the world. (Talk about hearts of gold.) Doctors remove eggs and sperm cells from the couple, and successfully combine them in the laboratory; fertilization takes place and new human lives begin!

But not every new embryo, new life, is implanted in its mother's womb. Several "extra" embroys are created in the process ... and frozen. In the United States alone we have hundreds of thousands of frozen embryos - human beings in suspended animation! (And if not frozen, simply destroyed.) Those are our children, as surely as the ones who are carried to term.  It is a staggering realization. IVF begins with good intentions but in the real world, that of God's Kingdom, saints and angels watch in disbelief.

What can we do? Love, love each other. We in our culture act from ignorance, not malice. And when we discover God's vision, discover the real world, we have to look for opportunities to respectfully open others' eyes. We Christians aren't in the condemnation business; we're supposed to help bring fullness of life - succesful relationships with God and others and within ourselves. That means overcoming ignorance, both our own and others (through reason, Scripture and the teachings of the Church), and the false "bliss" that comes with it.

"That's what she said."
Yes Michael, She (the Church) said it long before I did (1 Peter 3:15). I just thought it bore repeating.
_______________________________

You can find a more developed post I wrote on IVF here.