The ox and the ass

We often hear about the Ox and the Ass around Chrismastide. We hear the familiar tune and lyric of "Good Christian Men Rejoice" with the old reference to the Ox and Ass.

In the Orthodox nativity icon, we often see an ox and ass. I learned today that these are not merely decorative images of a full stable. Rather, they are part of an understanding of prophetic utterance.

The prophet Isaiah, some 700 years before Christ, prophesied:

2 Hear, O ye heavens, and give ear, O earth, for the Lord hath spoken. I have brought up children, and exalted them: but they have despised me. 3 The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's crib: but Israel hath not known me, and my people hath not understood.

Christ is born . . . Glorify Him!