I know nothing

"I know nothing."  When I read the verses in Deuteronomy 21:1-9 I remembered a TV show from my childhood.  The prison guard knew of the prisoners antics but refused to acknowledge them.  He thought that if he didn't know he would not be held responsible. 

These verses in Deuteronomy made me ponder what society teaches us.  Too often and too many people operate their daily lives around the phrases "I don't know" "I don't care" "It won't affect me" "It doesn't bother me".

These verses show me that God cared about an unknown man killed by an unknown assailant in an unknown field.  He cared enough to give the Israelites a plan to care.  They had to  measure the distance from the deceased to the nearest town to assign jurisdiction.  He gave careful instructions to find an innocent heifer to be the atonement for the sin.  The nearest town's priests were to wash their hands, to show their innocence yet place innocent hands on the innocent heifer which would be the sacrifice for a sin no one they knew had committed.

God cares about the unknown sin and He knows that the mysterious source of sin will hang like a cloud over a community.  He knows that the community needs the atonement even when they are not guilty.  Sin is not sin in a vacuum.  Sin effects the community.

God knows that for the Israelites to live in a community, to "get along", there will be situations that the community will need to acknowledge and take some responsibility.  These verses also comfort me.  Even though no one may known of an injustice I have experienced, God knows and He cares.

In our sinful and too often mystery filled world, we cannot claim lack of knowledge and still be innocent.  If our brother is a part of the community, we should care just as God cared about the unknown deceased man. I must be the one to call 911; to report a crime; to assist a person in distress.  Just because I think something won't affect me, I still am responsible for  my community.  It's why I vote; why I believe in better schools; want a cleaner environment; help to feed the hungry...

I may not know or be held responsible but God always knows and that makes me responsible.  Each time the TV show prison guard's plan of deniability backfired.  Many times the prisoners had to come to his aid.  It made for a humorous TV show but in life it makes life stressful and complicated.  Caring and being responsible is the less complicated life. 

"I didn't know" doesn't absolve my feeling of guilt, it's a call to care.