"Hey!" "What's up?" "Hello." "How are you?"

"Hi." "Good morning." Every language and subculture has its greetings. "G'Day"—common Down Under, in Australia and New Zealand. Greetings open gates that are otherwise closed and locked.

Centuries back, we find an amazing greeting. It's in a story we pick up as two people make their way along a dusty trail from Moab to Bethlehem.

One of the travellers is an older woman, a Jew. She's grieving, dispirited, bitter. Her husband has died; both of her sons too. She's leaving nothing, and going home to nothing.

The other woman is a young adult, a Moabite in her prime. She is also grieving. She's the older woman's daughter-in-law. Her husband's body lies in a grave, farther behind with every step she takes.

Naomi is drawn back to Judah because there is nowhere else to go. Ruth travels with her motherin-law, because she cannot imagine life without her. She has made her commitment to Naomi's God. "Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried."

For widows in these times, death cloaks the mind. From every perspective the outlook is bleak.

Naomi finds refuge with long-lost relatives. Ruth falls into the welfare system. She joins the poorest of the poor, picking up left-over barley behind harvesters in the fields.

Suddenly, the richest man in Bethlehem appears. He's young, single, and from the same family line as Naomi's dead husband. Boaz surveys the field workers and the gleaners who follow them. He takes a deep breath, then shouts a greeting: "The LORD be with you!"

The workers and the gleaners stop. They stand up, look toward Boaz, and in spirited ceremony shout back, "And the LORD bless you!"

This is no "Hi" or "Hello". The words are filled with meaning, filled with holiness, filled with God. The greeting is covenantal communication ordained by Heaven.

It's a communication confirmed in New Testament times. The angel Gabriel greets Mary this way; Paul ends some of his letters this way.

The historical church continued the tradition: "The Lord be with you"—"And also with you." Old English picked it up—"God be in your morning"; "God be in your night." Yes, here are the origins of "Good morning" and "Good night".

In this greeting, the more you look, the more you see.

"The LORD"—in the Old Testament this form always refers to the high and mysterious name for God, God Almighty; the God who makes a covenant with his people, and keeps it to the death.

"With"—this is a significant expression. It can be translated both "The LORD be with you" and "The LORD is with you."

The concept is revolutionary. Almighty God with us! Religions of the world teach a god we must climb up to, or whom we must bring down to ourselves. The Bible proclaims a God already with us—first in creation, then in redemption.

When God came to us in redemption, he gave the Person of that redemption a carefully chosen name: Immanuel. The covenantal greeting is embedded in the name Immanuel—"God with us".

"With you"—direct, personal, all-embracing. The blessing by Boaz targeted not only paid workers, but also destitute gleaners, including Ruth. "Who am I?" exclaims Ruth. "I am a foreigner, with no standing."

You know the rest of the story. Boaz steps into action as a kinsman-redeemer. He takes an interest in Ruth and Naomi, blessing them in person. He pays a price to free Ruth from exclusion and poverty, and he marries her. From their line comes King David, and then the baby born in Bethlehem, whose name is Immanuel—God with us.

So, is God in your greeting?

"The LORD be with you"

"And the LORD bless you."

Try it! Put it into practise, beginning today. When you can, show others how to respond.

This greeting is holy connection. It's sacred blessing. In a purposeful sense, it is prayer. Our exact words might vary from these, depending on the person and the circumstances. But as we identify with Immanuel, God will be in our greeting, and gates will open.

This article first appeared in modified form in Mid-America Outlook, October 2007. Copyright © 2009 by Ed Gallagher (South Pacific edition). / Scripture quotations taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission.