If angels rarely appear, it's because we all too often mistake the medium for the Message.

The line reframes “angelic appearances” as a problem of perception rather than absence. It suggests that people expect the sacred or revelatory to arrive in a particular form—an apparition, a dramatic sign, a culturally approved “spiritual” experience—and therefore overlook the substance of what is being communicated. By invoking the idea of confusing “medium” and “Message,” the quote implies that guidance may come through ordinary channels (chance encounters, mundane events, inner promptings), but is missed when attention fixates on the packaging. The aphorism encourages discernment: attend to meaning, ethical demand, or insight rather than to spectacle or the credentials of the messenger.