The story of the healing of the centurion's servant of paralysis is recounted on pages 41-44 of Stories of healing: Jesus and his followers, Ir may have been quite a stretch for an important soldier to approach Jesus to ask for help. Yet he did so because he loved his servant very much and believed that Jesus could heal him. In those days, the Roman army was powerful and everywhere, watching everyone's movements all the time. So the centurion's humility in refusing to even allow Jesus to visit his home, especially as he was a Gentile (not Jewish) -- "I'm not good enough for you to come inside my house" (p. 42) was startling.
As usual, Jesus turned the incident into a teaching moment for the people who were listening to this conversation and watching what was going on. He commented: "This man's faith is very great. I haven't found a faith like this among the Jews" (ibid, p. 43).
Accompanying this story is a modern-day account titled "My Victory over Childhood Paralysis" by Phyllis Woodhead from Claygate, Surrey, England. When this six-year old found herself in hospital with an "incurable" prognosis, she earnestly asked her mother if she could ask for prayerful help from a Christian Science practitioner. See page 242 for the account of her healing.
Julie Swannell
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