The Parable of the Talents and the Parable of the Workers
Seeming contradiction?

With the parable of the talents, this has to do with God's covenant community, in particular the necessary presence of service as an essential component to living under the blessings received. Those who have been "good and faithful" servants - producing more via the blessings they have been given - will be rewarded and enter into the master's "joy". Those who prove "wicked, " "lazy," and "worthless" servants - by doing nothing with what blessings they have been given will lose whatever they have and will go away into "outer darkness". They have proven themselves to be in unbelief concerning the promises of the covenant and hence not true recipients of the blessings. The point is simply being a member of the outward community doesn't mean one has eternal life.

With the parable of the workers, the point is that the only legitimate thing we can boast about is our weaknesses, because the grace of God is proven to be sufficient through human weakness. We have no basis to boast in, or be self-impressed with, our deeds and charities, no matter how much we do, because in this parable of the workers, after all is completed (with no qualifier on exactly how much is done) we are still to say "We are unworthy servants". The perfect charity of God towards us in Christ puts us in our place. If our labor includes the motive of impressing God, or to increase blessing, or to increase our worthy standing before God, we are violating the principle of unworthiness taught in this parable. The reason why is because the labor itself (sanctification) does not contribute to our accepted and worthy standing before God (justification). We are worthy because of Christ's work who has met the terms and earned the blessings. Our labors are simply the reasonable response of gratitude for the blessings received, not to add on to the worthiness we already have as servants in the kingdom.