And his garments became shining and exceeding white as snow, so as no fuller upon earth can make white. [Mark 9:2]One translation (perhaps of the parallel in another gospel) says something like "whiter than any bleach could achieve" - yes, a "fuller" is one who bleaches fabric. One of our modern bleaches is often termed "chlorine" - though this is a common expression, and not chemical. It is not the element, but it contains chlorine, as it is a solution of sodium hypochlorite, NaClO. The element chlorine is a yellow-green gas, very poisonous and reactive.
We need not even reach under the sink to find a chemical containing chlorine - right here on our tables and stoves we can find common table salt, which is sodium chloride, NaCl. It should come as a perennial surprise to us that this useful and important substance is a strange yoking of two terrible and powerful reactive enemies - we shall discuss salt later in our series, but indeed we might find it here a suggestion or symbol of the mystery of the hypostatic union, unveiled for a moment on the mountain top.
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