Harley Palmer - 03/18/23

We gather this afternoon to remember and celebrate the life of Harley Palmer and we also want to affirm and cling to the promises of God’s Word about life and death.

The Bible tells us,

Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. 2 There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? 3 When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am. (John 14:1-3)

Jesus said,

“I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying. 26 Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never ever die. (John 11:25-26)

These promises combined with the Resurrection of Jesus give us a sure hope today. As the Apostle Paul wrote, “For me, to live is Christ, to die is GAIN.”

Please pray with me.

Our Father you have been so kind to us. You gifted us with the life of Harley Palmer. You also gifted us with your mercy and grace that makes it possible for us to live even though we die. Help us to remember and give thanks for Harley today. Draw us close to you that we might know your comforting presence. Amen.

Harley Palmer was a guy who used an economy of words. I will try to do likewise as I share some of the stories and memories about Harley. Harley may not have said much but He was always listening and watching and occasionally you could get him to tell you a story. He was somewhat unflappable; He didn’t seem to get worked up about anything. Let me give you an example.

He graduated from Terry Haute High School. Arlin Clover says he and Gus (Harley) were working with a corn Sheller putting the drag together (It may be obvious, but I have no idea what I just said). A large rat came out, went into Harley’s shirt and he shook and the rat came right out. Then Harley said, “that was kind of fun.”

There is also the story of Arlin and Harley being out on their motorcycles once. They were riding down the road and decided they would swap motorcyles, while they were riding them!! They actually pulled it off!

Arlin said while they were in school in Terre Haute they were in a wood shop class and needed something in the La Harpe Lumber yard. Four of the boys went out to Arlin’s dad's truck for the run to La Harpe (anything to get out of school). The truck had four on the floor and the cab was crammed full with the four boys. So, as they came into LaHarpe at the “Y” stop sign. Arlin had to ask “Gus” to put it into gear while he engaged the clutch. Harley, just for the fun of it, shifted into reverse. The other two boys both slammed into the dashboard when Arlin hit the gas.

Harley served in the Navy in 1952-1956. On May 18, 1956 he married Shirley ‘Rusty’ Palmer. Rusty was 10 years older than Harley and already had 5 children! It must have been quite a surprise when 21-year-old Harley came home and said, “Mom, dad, guess what?” Harley used to tell people that he must have been drunk to have married Rusty who came with five kids.

Harley worked as a mechanic and upholsterer all his life. He was good at both trades.

Rusty had a strong personality she was always sure of what she wanted. Harley was a “let’s just go with the flow” kind of guy. He was content to do whatever she wanted to do. They moved from California to Illinois, then they went out to California again where they ran a motel. If I have the story correct while in California Harley turned a bus into their own little RV. They took the RV (affectionately called “Cram-a-lot” because of all the stuff in it) and took off for Alaska. While in Alaska Harley built the family home and worked as a mechanic. One of Cindy’s vivid memories was one day while he was building their two-story house he had 2-year-old Michael on the roof with him!!! HE didn’t see any problem with that at all. Michael spent a lot of time with “Papa.” They had an extra special relationship. Harley had a huge impact on Michael’s life.

Harley enjoyed his family. He was a committed husband and father. As we have alluded to, he had a bit of an ornery streak in him. When Cindy was 5 years old, Harley told her that her mom had shot Santa. He told another of the girls very convincingly, that chocolate milk came from brown cows.

Harley Palmer had a way of quietly endearing himself to those around him. He was a good man and in his quiet ways, made a big impact. We thank God for him.

[song]

Whenever we have a funeral, we love to tell the funny stories and celebrate the accomplishments and impressions made by a person in our lives. I believe this is fitting and appropriate. Any time we can celebrate a human life, we should do so. But such memories do not really address the real issue.

The Bible tells us that living beyond the grave (Heaven) is not something we gain because we have reached some particular “credit score.” The Bible is very plain: “There is no one who is righteous, not even one.” In other words, there is no one who has lived up to God’s requirements.

Think about it this way, suppose God said, “The only way you can get into Heaven is to drive the speed limit all the time.” There would be some who said, “I drive the speed limit most of the time.” Or maybe you would claim you drive just 5-6 m.p.h. over the speed limit because you believe you usually won’t get ticketed for that. But that is not the requirement! We must drive THE speed limit ALL of the time. If that were the requirement most of us would immediately know we were in trouble.

God’s requirement for us is that we live by His Law all the time. None of us has come close to doing that. Our only hope for Heaven is the mercy of God. He must do for us what we could not do for ourselves. And that is exactly why Jesus came to earth. He lived a life of perfect obedience and then traded His perfect life as payment for our sin. The fact that he is the Son of God means His life is of such value that it can pay for the sin of anyone who puts their trust in Him.

One day Harley came to Virginia and told her he had had a dream. He dreamt of Chad. Chad told him, “please tell my mom that I am OK and can now do all the things I couldn’t do before.” Harley responded to the instructions and shared the dream. He obviously thought God could communicate through dreams, and he did what he was asked to do. That sounds like faith to me.

Virginia asked Harley about his faith and he said he had placed his faith in Christ. And that is important to us because it means Harley is more alive now than he has ever been.

Jesus offers us eternal life if we embrace Him as our Savior and follow Him as our Lord. When we do so we are forgiven and become a new person in this life and will live even after they have died.

I know, it sounds good, but how do you know it is true? The answer is found in the Resurrection of Jesus. It is good for everyone to examine the evidence for the resurrection. I believe if you look at it carefully and logically, you will see that it happened just as it was preached. The dead man came back to life! He showed people his hands and feet. He appeared to them many times over 40 days. There was no doubt to anyone that He was the resurrected Christ.

Why is that important? Because it shows that Jesus was no ordinary man. He was not merely a religious leader, He was and is God’s own Son. He came back from the dead just as He said He would. This shows us that we can believe the promises Jesus made to us. He said “we would live even though we die.” He said He was the only way to be right with God (and the great news is that there IS a way.) He tells us that he will never leave us or forsake us.

Harley may not have had all the nuances of the gospel figured out (but he might have and we just didn’t know it!) but the good news of the gospel is that we are not saved by how much we know, we are saved by who we trust.

Harley served his country, he served his family, and he served lots and lots of other people. He was a quiet man, but he served people in ways that made an impact. And because he trusted Christ, it means there is no condemnation for him. When Harley left this earth on February 6thit was the best day ever for him. His eyes were opened to the beauty of the Savior, the richness of Heaven, and the staggering awareness of God’s grace.

We will miss Harley and we mourn. But we don’t mourn for HIM. We mourn for our loss. Harley has lost nothing! He has gained everything.

[Song]

Let me give you just a few lessons we can learn from Harley’s life

1. As we look back on our lives at all the dumb things we have done, we realize how blessed we are to still be alive.

2. It isn’t how much you talk that matters; what matters is what you say when you do talk!

3. Orneriness is endearing if you don’t take it too far.

4. A good friendship lasts throughout your life.

5. Family is a blessing no matter how the family came to be.

6. People who are good at listening are a rare treasure. They are the people God will be most apt to speak to because He knows He will be heard.

7. We can “Cram-a-lot” of stuff into our lives (did you see what I did there?) but the only thing that matters, in the end, is our relationship with Jesus.

It is good to appreciate the people around us while we have the opportunity to do so. Each person contains their own treasure. That was certainly true for Harley Palmer.

Let’s pray,

Gracious Father, you bless us in so many ways. Sometimes we don’t recognize the blessing until it is gone. Perhaps this is true of Harley. Lord, thank you for the different ways he has touched the lives of those gathered here.

Keep Harley’s memory clear in our minds. Help us to take some of His spirit with us as we go. Welcome him into your kingdom and the place you have prepared for him. We ask in Jesus’s name!