Ephesians 1:15-23 [Ascension]
Pastor Ron Koehler
Grace—Tucson, AZ
May 17, 2026
THE ASCENDED CHRIST RULES OVER ALL THINGS Is there any chance anyone here feels like the world is kind of an unsteady place lately? That’s what I thought. You scroll through headlines and stories or watch the news and it’s just one strange or troubling or disappointing thing after another. Nobody likes to hear that gas prices are high. I don’t appreciate being told that it’s going to cost even more to throw slabs of beef on my grill. Morality seems only to decline. Tragedies seem more prevalent. Politicians argue and call names like middle-schoolers on a playground (sorry middle-schoolers!). Countries threaten each other and go to war. Technology keeps changing so fast that I keep pushing the wrong buttons on all the things. Yesterday coffee was good for you; today it’s killing you. Confusing and unsteady—that’s the world we live in. And don’t even get us started on our personal chaos, right? We’re worried about our kids. We can’t imagine the world our grandchildren are inheriting. Our parents aren’t doing well. Can I find a summer job? Is my money going to outlive me or will it be the other way around? Test results, marriages, jobs, loneliness, guilt… It’s all enough to make even a Christian wonder, Is somebody actually in control of all this mess? If the pastor asks you that in church on a Sunday, you know you’re supposed to tell him, God’s in control. But on a lot of days, life really doesn’t feel like there is this strategic plan being faithfully carried out. It feels more like you’re sitting in one of those Target shopping carts with the bad wheel and riding it down a rocky hill…slick with rain! Would you believe that this is exactly why Ascension is such an important festival? Ascension is not the celebration of Jesus disappearing or the celebration of Jesus’ much-deserved time off until Judgment Day. Ascension is the celebration of Jesus ruling over all things. Forty days after rising from the dead, Jesus visibly ascended into heaven. What happened next? We’re told that God the Father seated Christ far above all rule, authority, power, and dominion. Then we hear this beautiful comfort for us this morning—the thing that has the power to put away our worries and calm our fears and give us confidence and hope: God also placed all things under his feet and made him head over everything for the church. That is, for you!