Deuteronomy 22:1-5: a reflection

1You shall not see your brother’s ox or his sheep go astray and hide yourself from them. You shall surely bring them again to your brother. 2If your brother isn’t near to you, or if you don’t know him, then you shall bring it home to your house, and it shall be with you until your brother comes looking for it, and you shall restore it to him. 3So you shall do with his donkey. So you shall do with his garment. So you shall do with every lost thing of your brother’s, which he has lost and you have found. You may not hide yourself. 4You shall not see your brother’s donkey or his ox fallen down by the way, and hide yourself from them. You shall surely help him to lift them up again. 5A woman shall not wear men’s clothing, neither shall a man put on women’s clothing; for whoever does these things is an abomination to the LORD your God.

These laws concern how to treat a neighbor's lost or fallen property, and a phrase recurs through them: you may not hide yourself. If you see your neighbor's ox or sheep straying, do not ignore it, but bring it back; if you see his donkey fallen down under its load, do not hide yourself, but help him lift it up. Whatever your neighbor has lost, if you find it, you may not ignore it, but must restore it. The law forbids the look-the-other-way indifference that ignores a neighbor's need we could help.

Notice the phrase the law repeats: you may not hide yourself. It would be easy to see a neighbor's straying animal or fallen load and simply look the other way, telling ourselves it is not our concern; but the law forbids this. You may not hide yourself from a neighbor's need or loss that you can help; you must act, restoring what is lost, helping lift what has fallen. The law requires not merely refraining from harming a neighbor, but actively helping him, not hiding from his need.

That requirement, not to hide ourselves from a neighbor's need we can help, reaches into our own dealings. It is easy to see a need we could help, and look the other way, telling ourselves it is not our concern, hiding ourselves from it. But the law says you may not hide yourself; where you can help a neighbor's need, you are to act, not ignore it. When you see a need you could help, whether a lost thing to restore or a burden to help lift, do not hide yourself from it, looking the other way; act to help, as the law requires. It is not enough merely to refrain from harming others; we are called actively to help them, not to hide ourselves from the needs we can meet. Do not look the other way from a neighbor's need you can help; you may not hide yourself, but must act to help, restoring, lifting, meeting the need you are able to meet.

Lord, these laws concern how to treat a neighbor's lost or fallen property, and a phrase recurs through them: you may not hide yourself. If I see my neighbor's straying animal, I must bring it back; if I see his donkey fallen under its load, I must help him lift it; whatever he has lost, if I find it, I must restore it. The law forbids the look-the-other-way indifference that ignores a need I could help. Let that requirement reach into my own dealings. It is easy to see a need I could help, and look the other way, telling myself it is not my concern, hiding myself from it. But the law says I may not hide myself; where I can help a neighbor's need, I am to act, not ignore it. When I see a need I could help, whether a lost thing to restore or a burden to help lift, keep me from hiding myself from it, looking the other way; help me act to help, as the law requires. It is not enough merely to refrain from harming others; I am called actively to help them, not to hide myself from the needs I can meet. Keep me from looking the other way from a neighbor's need I can help, Lord; help me not hide myself, but act to help, restoring, lifting, meeting the need I am able to meet.