HOT PURSUIT

For Griffin Korbel, performing at Trinity Lutheran Church in Owatonna on Good Friday took on a reprised role of a character he previously portrayed.

When Korbel was a baby, he played Baby Jesus during one of the Christmas services at Trinity.

But that’s not all.

Though he’s not Middle Eastern, Korbel finds he has some key physical characteristics that resemble Jesus.

It seemed only appropriate that the 25-year-old took on the lead role as Jesus at this year’s Good Friday service in which several hundred children and adults attended.

He performed in about a dozen scenes depicting Jesus’ ministry, death and resurrection. Korbel was one of about 70 volunteers involved in what has become a tradition for decades at Trinity.

Korbel said he studied up on what it takes to portray Jesus by watching a video of a previous performance. “I pictured Jesus as a calm demeanor. I tried to stay stoic as I didn’t want to be overly smiley,” he said, adding he focused on “showing classic Jesus as a friend to everyone.”

One of the most intense scenes for Korbel was being nailed to the cross. “It was a very surreal moment for me thinking about the brutality of it all that Jesus went through,” he said. “The cross shows the kids the overall arching story of the crucifixion.

“I wanted to do a good job for all the kids,” said Korbel, who graduated from Owatonna in 2019. “I wanted to have fun with it, but in a respectful way.”

This year’s performance was directed by Laura Jensen, director of children’s ministry at Trinity. She said a couple of interactive scenes were added this year. One of them was distributing band aides to everyone as a sign that “Jesus heals all.”

“We want people to know that he was a loving God and died for all of us,” Jensen said. “Jesus is not scary. He is for everyone.”

After performing the Easter story of Jesus, Korbel hopes everyone finds that Jesus “welcomed all and did not discriminate.” He added, “People followed him because he loved all and didn’t care about what you did. He loved you for what you were.”

Korbel said taking on the lead role has also helped him in his own faith journey. He admits he drifted away from the church during his college days in South Dakota. However, this will help bring him back to his roots of faith while attending Trinity during his childhood.

When he’s not portraying Jesus, Korbel works in the certificate center at Federated Insurance in Owatonna. He came back to Owatonna about a year ago. He has a degree in communication studies from SDSU.

And he doesn’t mind following in the footsteps of his father, Dom Korbel, who is the director of Community Pathways of Steele County. “Everyone knows my dad,” he said. “It makes it more fun for me as my dad is like a local celebrity,” he added.

The younger Korbel has dabbled in theatre before but mostly backstage in high school. He minored in theatre at college. He’s thankful for the opportunity Trinity gave him to be Jesus.

And he hinted he may be in hot pursuit of coming back again next year to reveal the hope of Easter once again to all ages.