[Jesus said:] “Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment” (John 7:24). Every so often, I travel to Wolfsburg (about three hours away from Hamburg by train) to fill in because of a pastoral vacancy. Sadly, Germany’s rail system has become notoriously unpunctual (a relatively new phenomenon—unheard of up to the 1990s…) and so I always take several trains earlier to have some wiggle room. Sunday mornings usually run smoothly, but this past week I was hit with a 50-minute delay. Although I usually walk to church, this time I had to take a taxi from the Wolfsburg train station to St. Michael’s Lutheran Church, where I was scheduled to conduct a Divine Service in German and Farsi. I heaved my backpack and garment bag into the trunk of the van and noticed that the trunk liner was decorated with little scenes from Istanbul. For this reason, I assumed that the driver was Turkish. Settling in, I asked him how things were going in Wolfsburg (the world HQ of Volkswagen). Locals are nervous, he replied, because VW might be forced to close plants and lay off workers. He also shared that he is originally from northern Iraq and has been living in Germany for 23 years. With snap elections in Germany set for February 23, I went out on a limb and asked him what party he would vote for if he were a German citizen. Without skipping a beat, he said he would vote AfD (Alternative für Deutschland), a party known for its very tough stance on immigration—even advocating for the remigration of refugees. He added: “There are too many Muslims in this country.” I gave him a quizzical look. “I’m not Muslim,” he explained. “I’m Yazidi” [an ancient monotheistic religion—neither Muslim nor Christian]. Wow, I did not see that coming. I thanked God for my train’s 50-minute delay, which enabled me to have that most interesting chat. Indeed, “Do not judge by appearances,” as our Lord reminds us. Things are often quite different than what they seem.
The Tiews in Germany 