Can I really go to jail for not showing up for court?

Can I go to jail for not showing up to court on a civil matter? I got served papers to go to court over a debt. It took almost a year from the time they served me before my actual court date since it was rescheduled. In all honestly I completely forgot about it. I had all intentions to go to try to question this debt collector. Since I've never heard of them before. But almost a month after the court date I got served a order of show cause. And the cop said I'm looking at 15 days in jail for not showing up to court. I didn't think there was a issue with not showing up for a attempt to collect debt. I've had to many friends who have been through this and it was never a issue when they didn't show up. So why am I looking at jail time over this? I've never been in trouble. I've had 1 speeding ticket. That is to the extent of my records